Watch the State of the City Address here:
The city is continuing to focus on helping those in need in the community. The city is bringing multi-faceted services to our homeless population. Among the areas that the mayor highlighted was a new and improved Multi-Agency Outreach Resource Engagement or MORE Team pilot program. The team, which visits homeless individuals where they are in the community and offers services, includes:
- A qualified mental health professional
- Community health workers
- Street medicine via an advanced emergency medical technician
This pilot program works closely with the new Community Court, a specialty court at our Municipal Court that will focus on structure, monitoring and resources for defendants in lieu of more punitive options.
The city also is supporting the planned Campus for Hope, which brings the business community and government together to focus on those who are in danger of becoming homeless or have recently become homeless. This is another key to strengthening our safety net.
This summer, the city’s new Recuperative Care Center, or RCC, will open, providing a safe, stable and supportive place for people experiencing homelessness to heal from a serious illness or injury. The RCC is the only program of its kind in our community. Recovery is extremely difficult on the streets; shelters generally are not equipped to support people who are sick or injured. The RCC promotes connections to primary and behavioral health care and decreases hospital utilization; thus, improving efficiency and reducing costs in health systems.
Mayor Berkley also underlined that housing is not only an issue for our homeless population, but for everyone. The city is adding to the housing inventory at all income levels with many projects, including:
- ShareWESTSIDE is well underway adjacent to the Historic Westside School on the corner of D and Jefferson streets. It is a new, five-story, residential apartment building with 100-plus units from Cherry Development.
- The city also plans to build artist housing on Las Vegas Boulevard next door to the 18B Las Vegas Arts District.
- The city is continuing with plans for Desert Pines, currently a golf course on East Bonanza Road that is being repurposed for about 1,500 units of mixed-use, mixed income housing, commercial development and a workforce training center.
- The city continues to work with Lennar on their major housing developments on the old Cashman Center and Grant Sawyer Building sites off Washington and Las Vegas Boulevard. Lennar is planning for more than 1,200 new workforce housing units.
- Olympia Companies is bringing 3,500 new homes to Ward 4 with their Skye Summit project and 6,000 new homes to Ward 6 with their Monument Hills project, which also includes military housing for Creech and Nellis Air Force Bases.
Symphony Park continues to be a beacon of new development with the new museum of art planned for just east of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Symphony Park also is home to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, the Discovery Children’s Museum, the AC Marriott/Element by Westin Hotel and many new and existing residential projects.
The Arts District has transformed into one of our city’s premier destinations, and with that success there are realities that cannot be ignored, including demands on infrastructure in the area. The city’s challenge is to do the hard work to meet the growing needs of the area while ensuring that the workers, residents and businesses can thrive and continue to live and work in this wonderful ecosystem that is the Arts District.
The Arts District is home to many shops, galleries, restaurants and the very popular Brewery Row. It is also home to two new residential midrise projects ready for new residents that together bring more than 640 new units online.
The planned Midtown development also is coming to the Arts District and will bring new residential spaces and a plaza with shopping and dining.
We have a new parking garage coming to the Arts District that will bring 500 new spaces to the area this summer. It also will have space for retail as well as murals.
In 2026, Mayor Berkley is looking for more fun and excitement at Las Vegas Civic Center, the city’s new gathering place in the heart of downtown Las Vegas. The city has hosted concerts, gallery exhibitions, farmers markets and even the National Christmas Tree.
Area 15 continues to be an imaginative and immersive arts and entertainment district like nothing else in Las Vegas. Mayor Berkley recently welcomed the team from Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart to celebrate their fifth anniversary in our city.
The Las Vegas Medical District continues to grow and bring more care options to residents. We know that we need to have new housing for medical students at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV and the UNLV School of Dental Medicine. The Oscar is a new seven-story community from Cedar Street Companies that has broken ground and will include 236 apartment units, including some affordable housing units. A new hotel is under construction across from UMC, providing much-needed hotel rooms for traveling medical professionals and families visiting loved ones in the Medical District.
Mayor Berkley also spoke about education and the impact of the new Historic Westside Education & Training Center. The center is offering credentialed job training programs in advanced manufacturing, health care, technology and construction trades through a partnership with the College of Southern Nevada.
The new Westside Library also recently opened on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, bringing a beautiful new community hub to the area. This library was partially funded using New Market Tax Credits, which were awarded through an incredibly competitive federal process. Mayor Berkley announced that the city has received notification that an additional $40 million in tax credits have been awarded to the Las Vegas Community Investment Corporation to invest in low-income and underserved communities in Southern Nevada.
Mayor Berkley also spoke about the new recreational amenities planned in the city. The beautiful new home of the Nevada State Veterans Memorial is under construction at Thunderbird Park, and Mayor Berkley said she looks forward to cutting the ribbon later this year.
A new regional pickleball complex is now under construction at Wayne Bunker Family Park. When it opens in 2027, this complex will effectively double the number of courts in the city.
Later this year, the city will open the new Olympic-sized outdoor pool at the Pavilion Center Pool Complex adjacent to Veterans Memorial Community Center. This is going to provide a much-needed facility for young swimmers to enjoy and for future Olympians to compete in.
The new Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department substation near Grand Teton and Skye Canyon broke ground in late 2025. This complex also will feature a new park.
The City Council has approved an interlocal agreement to build a joint 911 center, where all the jurisdictions will work together and better dispatch emergency services to the community.
Mayor Berkley also confirmed that much loved events, such as the Las Vegas Book Festival, Helldorado Days Parade, the Bluegrass Festival and the Tamale and Mariachi Festival, will continue.
Sustainability also will remain a focus for the city, where crews are out increasing the tree canopy and meeting the goal of planting more than 60,000 new trees. In fact, through a $5 million-dollar federal grant, the city has free trees available to be planted at homes in qualifying areas. To apply for a free tree, visit www.lasvegasnevada.gov/trees.
Finally, Mayor Berkley also spoke about the need for pet owners to responsibly care for their animals. She said that the city is working to help our animals through laws like the microchipping ordinance and adoption events.