Newest Vegas Megaproject, $470M Arts Venue, Takes a Bow

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor  

For the past several years, Las Vegas has struggled to reclaim its customary investment and development vigor. The city’s newest megaproject is neither a hotel nor a casino, but a quirky $470 million venue for dance, theater, classical music and jazz.

In an area where entertainment is synonymous with glitzy spectacles, the new Smith Center for the Performing Arts could raise the profile of the often overlooked but vibrant Las Vegas arts community. A 170-foot-tall bell tower is the signature feature of the complex, which is evokes nearby Hoover Dam and incorporates Art Deco stylistic elements. Designed by David M. Schwarz Architects Inc., Smith Center is on track to be the first performing arts sector of its scale to earn LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

 The main performance space, the 2,050-seat Reynolds Hall, will provide new homes for the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Nevada Ballet Theater. A pair of intimate venues, the 258-seat Cabaret Jazz venue and the 250-seat Troesh Studio Theater, round out the performance spaces.

Developed through a public-private partnership, Smith Center is located on a site provided by the city of Las Vegas, which also took the lead on environmental remediation and building infrastructure. The total public share of the financing is about $170 million.

Image Courtesy of lvrda.org