The downtown Las Vegas skyline continues to take shape as more projects move forward. Two projects within Union Park, the 61-acre mixed use parcel located in the heart of downtown, have recently taken important steps forward.

The City Council approved the Site Development Plan and Special Use Permit for the World Jewelry Center , a 50-story tower that will include 10 floors of high-end condominiums and space for wholesale jewelry manufacturers and dealers as well as jewelry retailers.

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts  also took an important step forward recently with the selection of Whiting-Turner to handle some necessary steps that must be performed before construction of the building can begin. These pre-construction services include the review of construction cost estimates and a constructability review, which will ensure that the building can be built the way in which it was designed. City Council recently approved the move, which will allow necessary steps such as constructability review and construction cost estimate to begin. The $475 million complex, which is being funded through a rental car fee and private funds secured by a nonprofit organization, will break ground later this year.

Also downtown and not too far from Union Park, the Historic Downtown Post Office, recently received $800,000 in grants to help with further renovations. The grant from the Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial will help to push efforts to transform the building into a museum that will focus on the city’s history, including the influence of organized crime.

A $300,000 grant was awarded to a nonprofit partner and will be used to purchase artifacts relating to the history of Las Vegas and the building. These artifacts will be housed in permanent galleries on three floors in the museum. The other $500,000 grant was provided for a seismic retrofit of the building, which will help stabilize the building in the event of an earthquake. The city recently completed interior work and will continue its exhibit design work through the end of the year.

Downtown Las Vegas also got some positive financial news recently. The bond ratings for the city’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA), which promotes and encourages the redevelopment of the downtown urban core and surrounding older commercial districts, have been upgraded by Standard & Poor’s from A- to A+. The upgrade reflected the tremendous growth in the RDA tax increment as well as greater local economic diversification.