FAQs

What Is Union Park?
Union Park is a 61-acre mixed-use master-planned urban development in downtown Las Vegas. It is being developed by the City of Las Vegas with Newland Communities serving as development manager and is considered by many to be the single most important element of downtown revitalization and redevelopment.

Union Park is planned to include more than 11 million square feet of commercial, office, medical, retail, residential, hospitality and civic components to create a dynamic and dense urban environment in the heart of downtown Las Vegas.

Union Park’s estimated value is about $6 billion.

What Is Newland’s Role In Union Park?
Newland Communities was retained by the City of Las Vegas in December 2005 to act as development manager for the project which involves multiple partners and interests.

Newland is managing the development process, working in tandem with the City of Las Vegas as land owner.

Why Was Newland Chosen To Manage Development of this Project?
Presently the largest residential developer in the country, Newland Communities’ extensive experience is reflected in its vast collection of residential communities, across the country. Currently, Newland has more than 40 active projects in 14 states including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, California, South Carolina, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington, Virginia, Nevada and Maryland.

Newland’s current major developments include Estrella Mountain Ranch in Phoenix, 4S Ranch in San Diego, Sterling on the Lake in Atlanta, MiraBay in Tampa and Stonemill Farms in Minnesota.

For Union Park, Newland brings its experience and significant resources – both expertise and financial – to assist the City of Las Vegas in development of the site.

Who Are The Local Faces Of Newland Communities In Southern Nevada?
Rita Brandin is senior vice president of Newland Communities’ Mountain Division and is development director for Union Park. With more than 20 years experience in real estate asset management and development, Brandin was employed by The Rouse Company for 17 years and recently oversaw the development and expansion of The Fashion Show on the Las Vegas Strip – the largest retail center in Nevada at nearly 2 million square feet.


Why Newland – A Master-Planned Community Developer For An Urban Project?
While Union Park is not as large as many of the master-planned communities being developed by Newland today, it is considered one of the company’s most strategic and significant projects because of its location and the role it will play in the redevelopment of downtown Las Vegas. Each of the fundamental elements needed to create great communities on a larger scale are even more important for a project like Union Park. Great place-making, regardless of acreage, includes symbiotic relationships between land planning, architecture, design, and a fundamental understanding of the services and product types a specific community needs. Newland has proven time and again to be an industry leader in that regard.

Newland Communities has strong working relationships with many of the country’s finest and most experienced land planners, architects, designers, engineers and development consultants. As a result, Newland is tapping into these relationships to ensure Union Park will exceed expectations as a true urban destination with long-term value and appeal.

What Are The Various Planned Uses For Union Park?
The plan identifies the various districts and land uses of the project:

Retail: 475,000 square feet
Office and Medical: 1.9 million square feet
Residential: 5.2 million square feet encompassed in approximately 3,200 housing units of all types (brownstones, apartments,mid- and high-rise condominiums, walk-ups and mid-rise mixed-use with retail on ground level)
Hotel: three possible properties totaling approximately 1.6 million square feet and 1,750 rooms

How Much Acreage Will Be Devoted To Private Uses?
Approximately 44 of the 61 acres will be dedicated to private uses.This is consistent with the uses prescribed in the master plan and the city’s original vision for the project.

How Will Union Park Be Organized?
The plan identifies five distinct districts organized in a series of small urban blocks – linked by high quality pedestrian streets:

1. The Civic Block will serve as the focal point for civic and cultural uses, including The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and a center for future arts-related venues and experiences. It will play a critical role in shaping the entire image of the project, providing venues for public gatherings and special events and underscoring the project’s urban theme with strong ties to the surrounding local arts community.

2. The northernmost district is the Specialty Block, characterized by a wide range of hospitality, specialty retail, hotel and entertainment uses. This district may include a major expansion of a downtown casino-hotel and a destination retail venue.

3. The Residential Block is planned as a true urban neighborhood with a variety of housing types including apartments, condominiums in both low- and high-rise configurations, street-level brownstones, walk-ups and mid-rise mixed-use with retail on the first level.

4. The Retail District will be comprised of both retail and restaurant uses and will feature street-facing retail, retail anchors on one block and two- or three-level specialty retail centers.

5. The Medical Office District is anchored by the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute with considerable office and clinic space to support medical and general office uses. 

What Projects Are Already Under Development At Union Park?
Union Park is already on the map with consummated agreements for the development of two key public facilities: the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

A third major facility, the World Jewelry Center, is in the early planning stages. Its developer currently has an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with the City of Las Vegas and is expected to execute a Development Agreement by mid-2008.

Will Development Be Phased?

Phase one: 2006 – 2007

• Securing commitments from private developers to anchor the site.
• Groundbreaking for Lou Ruvo Brain Institute – February 2007
• Continued design and planning for Smith Center for the Performing Arts

Phase two: 2008-2009

• Building of residential and retail character of the project.
• Start of construction on The Smith Center for the Performing Arts; Charlie Palmer Hotel/Condo; World Jewelry Center

Phase three: 2008 – 2009

• Continued land disposition and development activity relating to residential, hotel, medical and general office projects.

Phase four: 2009 – 2012

• Completion of project to be dictated by then current market.

Why Union Park as a project name?
While the site has been referred to as Union Park for several years, the name is also very meaningful to the history of downtown Las Vegas. Not only does “Union” allude to the city’s railroading past and the role played by Union Pacific in the settling of Las Vegas more than 100 years ago, it also represents the merging of people, business, culture,and community that will soon occur on the site as a result of planned development. The name, while representative of the city’s past, is also symbolic of its future. 

Does Union Park Have The Support Of The City?
Union Park is the vision of the Office of the Mayor and the Las Vegas City Council. Located in the historic heart of the city, Union Park is destined to become the city’s core. In that regard, it brings much needed amenities to the city – such as our city’s first Performing Arts Center in the context of a walkable urban neighborhood. Union Park is where the local population of Las Vegas will gather. In the years to come, it will be the heart of the one of the country’s most vibrant cities.

Following on the heels of all the mega-hotels and venues that cater to tourists, Union Park is the next chapter of Las Vegas. It is being developed as a locals’ destination – a place that will offer a richer, fuller and more invigorating urban experience than is currently available anywhere in Southern Nevada.

With a focus on creating a true, urban skyline in the years to come, Union Park will become known as “The New Skyline of the Southwest.” Nowhere else, in this part of the country, will a mix of commercial and residential energy purposefully converge to create a place that, though brand new, will feel like it has always been there … That the city could never have existed without it.

This development, located on the last completely unencumbered acreage in downtown Las Vegas, is not only central to the successful revitalization and redevelopment of downtown Las Vegas, it is the ideal place to create a true urban center, a city within a city.