The Historic Westside has felt the effects of the divestments for decades.
In this mostly black neighborhood near downtown Las Vegas, households earn less than half the citywide median income, the vast majority of the roughly 3,700 residents rent their homes, and unemployment is typically two to three times higher than in Las Vegas Las Vegas overall city stats.
But last year the city completed the first phase of the HUNDRED Plan, a roadmap to revitalize the neighborhood that focuses on commercial investment, housing, education, and cultural growth.
The plan, which according to the city is supported by the municipality, outlines the steps for a number of planned projects in the next few years: a health center, an African-American museum and a grocery store as anchor tenants, an affordable residential complex including.
Each project is tied to secured or potential sources of funding such as the city or the private sector. Jackson Avenue – a busy street in the 1950s – and the areas where Washington Avenue crosses D and H streets are considered catalysts for revitalization.
While this isn’t the first redevelopment plan for the area over the years, there is a renewed optimism that real change is coming after a long period of stagnation and one-off projects.
HUNDRED plan is “everything”
“Despite the long history of neighborhood segregation, the community is now at a point full of promise,” said Claytee White, director of the UNLV Oral History Research Center.
White hosted a panel discussion on Historic Westside, streamed online Thursday, and concluded a month-long series of the university series “We Need to Talk: Talking About Racism for a More Resilient Las Vegas”. The media consultancy for the program noted that the neighborhood has seen positive changes recently, such as the development of Legacy Park, which will honor 36 pioneers when it opens this year.
The project is included in the HUNDRED Plan In Action as one of four already funded and either ongoing or completed projects. Historic Westside Gateway signs at freeway exits were among the eight neighborhood signs installed in January, according to the city.
“I think the HUNDRED Plan In Action is everything,” said Councilor Cedric Crear, who represents the neighborhood.
The plan’s beginnings preceded Crear’s election to the council in March 2018, but he soon found that the Westside Strategic Guide was not ready to be rolled out.
“I said, ‘This isn’t going to be another plan we’re talking about, we’re saying we’re going to do it and absolutely nothing happens,'” said Crear.
In December 2019, around 60 stakeholders met with municipal employees and design experts to move the plan forward.
Gentrification on the radar
During Thursday’s panel discussion, Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy II, representing Historic Westside, said it would take “an incredible focus on black-owned business finance” to restore the vibrancy it was before more than half a century before.
The county is a partner in the HUNDRED plan, and McCurdy said collaboration will be critical to revitalizing the neighborhood.
Erika Vital-Lazare, professor of creative writing and marginalized voices in dystopian literature at the College of Southern Nevada, envisioned neighborhood bookstores, sidewalk cafes, lofts, and workspaces, as well as rooftops around the picturesque view. to enjoy the nearby mountains and the strip.
But as the plans promise to pay homage to the history of the neighborhood where original families and memories of Jackson Avenue are still revered today, panellists warned of the effects of gentrification.
“We can’t just look at the beautification, the development that is to come, as an invitation to exploitation, and I think that’s the concern,” said Vital-Lazare. “We are at a tipping point where we can do something else that will really improve the lives of those who are still in this field.”
Crear and McCurdy agreed that revitalization must not crowd out residents, and the HUNDRED plan calls on the city to put in place an anti-displacement policy this year to ensure new developments and investments don’t.
Sense of community
As forward-looking as the plans for Historic Westside are, there are immediate issues that need to be addressed further. McCurdy noted that the pandemic has only underscored inequalities in health care for minority groups.
The neighborhood is also about 35 percent Hispanic, according to the city.
It might be known as Historic Westside, said Chase McCurdy, a Legacy Park artist and a cousin of the commissioner, “but it’s the Westside because people still live there. It’s not just history, it’s also current and has a future. “
Ultimately, said William McCurdy, officials need to be aware of how the neighborhood is being redeveloped, and he saw its potential as an international attraction for visitors looking to experience black culture. Crear said young, black developers will be important to the Westside’s economic prosperity, and plans have plans to make the neighborhood a modern place to live.
“But also to create an even greater sense of community,” added Crear. “This is important.”
An earlier version of this story was misrepresented when the signage for the historic Westside Gateway was posted. They were installed in January.
Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.
