Clean Energy Jobs to ‘LEED’ Way for Las Vegas Job Market

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

Las Vegas will have to market one of its untapped resources in the near future, and this time the entertainment industry is not in play. A Las Vegas Sun story regarding the amount of clean energy jobs the Strip offers discusses a study by the Brookings Institution which concluded that the city has a high concentration of green architecture and construction jobs. That same study showed the fact that Las Vegas has seen a steady increase in the number of jobs in the above mentioned sector, currently reaching 2,507. An average annual growth of around 48 percent since 2003 has given the city a concentration that stands seven times higher than the national values.

The move that has made this aspect of Las Vegas real estate stand out was the construction of CityCenter, the massive LEED project that has spawned a series of green jobs around it during the process. Of course, CityCenter has gained a reasonable amount of publicity during the ongoing legal battle between MGM Resorts International and Perini Building Company. But Harmon Tower aside, green architecture is set to emerge in a big way and according to the Brookings Institution, if it’s strictly construction you’re interested in, then Vegas is the way to go.

In other real estate news, an interesting study in the way the North Strip has evolved was posted in The Las Vegas Business Press. The area’s demise started a few years back, and misfires have been piling up in attempts to revive the position of this particular part of the city. Some developments mentioned by the piece—such as Hilton Grand Vacations, a time share project, and the Sky condos which were created during the beginning of the last decade—were seen as key to the revitalization of the area. The actual truth however, as pointed out in the story, is that sites such as The Riviera, are finding out that the failure of the North Strip will end up isolating them.