Plans for Jackson Avenue in the Historic Westside are moving forward as part of the first phase of the HUNDRED Plan in Action.
The HUNDRED (Historic Urban Neighborhood Design Redevelopment) Plan was developed in 2016 as a plan for community-led investment in the Historic Westside. UNLV and the Historic Westside community partnered together to develop the plan, which focuses on community, identity, economy, housing and civic investments.
Historic Jackson Avenue once served as the Main Street of the Historic Westside. Home to a variety of businesses – from hotels and entertainment venues, to community services – it served as the primary place to gather.
The city has made improvements to Jackson Avenue from C Street to H Street to improve the pedestrian environment and aesthetics. Improvements include 15-foot sidewalks with shade trees; upgraded lighting for both the roadway and the pedestrian environment; and curb extensions at intersections to make pedestrian crossings safer and shorter.
The city has been working with local communities of faith who own land in the Westside, as well as local property owners, to help support their efforts to build new housing in the Historic Westside. This is being done through a series of meetings with city staff working with churches and other interested local parties to provide step-by-step technical support on how to develop a property. This includes assistance on understanding zoning and what can be done with property, how to design a building, pull permits and more. The Nevada Preservation Foundation received $44,700 of funding from the Centennial Commission to create a business plan to support restoration of historic properties.
In addition, the city hosts the annual Love on Jackson event, a local block party that sees the community gather on this historic thoroughfare.
The city is also working with local lending institutions to provide training and support services - as well as access to capital - for local residents interested in becoming business entrepreneurs in the Historic Westside. This effort includes exploring new ways for the city to work with these institutions to support entrepreneurialism in communities of color, as well as developing new programs and incentives to support this work.