On the elbow room in from the aerodrome , my driver did n’t want to drop me at the business district Las Vegas speech that I had furnish him . “ Oh man , I dunno , ” he said . “ It might not be very … decent . ” When I explicate I was there to cover the revival of Las Vegas ’s urban core he calculate at me skeptically in the rearview mirror . “ Are you indisputable ? ”
Many of us have heard the stories of theDowntown Project , Vegas ’ tech - bankroll resurgence , but we likely harbor the same incredulity as my number one wood . Zappos , the online retailer renowned for devilishly gracious return policy and a corporate culture bent on “ give up happiness , ” hope to remake a massive swath of an economically depressed business district — the business district of one of the most famous cities on the planet — by building cafes , green , and coworking spaces , and launching inauguration … mountain and lots of inauguration .
sentiment from my room of vacant lots , empty buildings , and some startups , most of them owned or funded by the Downtown Project
I ’d read inFast Companyand theNew York Timesabout the imagination of Zappos ’ capitulum Tony Hsieh , who seems to snap up sagging casinos and sketchy motel as often and effortlessly as some of his client buy a new duo of espadrille . But as someone who has see these same buzzwords — walkability ! vibrancy ! density!—zip through the churn zeitgeist of so many other cities before , I wanted to see it for myself .
I resolve to follow to Vegas this hebdomad , during the insanity that isCES , to explore the other tech story in town : Can one bay window — one man , really — construct an entirely new place out of this patchwork of vacant lots and liquor memory ? And can it really be a place where people want to live and work ?
Vegas ’ revitalization is front Sir Frederick Handley Page news , according to a local author cognize asJoe Downtown
As we pulled up in front ofThe Ogden , my driver ’s fear abated pretty . The high-pitched - ascent luxury apartment complex is a glint white pillar arise above the scuff facades of Fremont Street . The bottom floor was ringed with restaurants and cafe lined with reclaimed wood , the citywide architectural signature that Zappos financial support was here .
With the Downtown Project ’s service , I ’m bide in a “ wreck digs , ” one of the flat reserved for its visitant , but in the same building as many employees , like Paul Iserino , who enthusiastically checked me into my elbow room . “ Four year ago , you could n’t have paid me to come down here , ” he said , smiling broadly . “ Now I love it . ” If I needed anything , he say , he lived three doorway down . ( Hsieh , I would presently learn , live a few floors above . )
barren books to read and take home at a Downtown Project crash launchpad , including the urbanism book that inspired the initiative
So , for the rest of the calendar week , I ’ll be a resident of downtown Vegas , living and playing and working and using the abundant Wi - Fi networks ( all named “ Tony H ” ) .
I have so many questions . Who has Hsieh exploit to serve him ? What ’s the transportation system system like ? What do longtime occupier think of this programme ? Where is the grocery store ? I ’ll be get together the the great unwashed behind the undertaking , hang out at weenie ballpark , taking bike ride , spill the beans to city leaders , and doing lots and mass of walk , in the hopes that I might find out out .
We ’re describe live from Las Vegas on theDowntown Project , the $ 350 million urban revitalization project launch by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh . record all our coveragehere .
ces 2014Citiesurbanism
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