As a relative newcomer to the area, I saw (and continue to see) the vast potential of our Arts District. Beginning January 2010, the new ACE Gold Line will finally connect the 18b Arts District with virtually all of the Downtown attractions, the entire Las Vegas Strip, the Las Vegas Convention Center, and McCarren International Airport. This investment in transportation infrastructure by the Regional Transportation Commission will single-handedly put the 18b Arts District on the map and make it accessible not only to the creative class living locally in Las Vegas, but to anyone visiting town for business, leisure, or pleasure.

The ACE Gold Line is what brought me to town to develop THE MISSION LAS VEGAS, which will be located directly adjacent to the 18b Arts District bus station at Coolidge and Casino Center. THE MISSION is being designed, programmed, and developed in response to the feedback and input I have been receiving from stakeholders from throughout the Las Vegas creative communities. Over the last two years, I have been networking with artists, writers, poets, musicians, performers, critics, Las Vegas city officials and planners, and others within the creative class of Las Vegas who want to see more arts and culture and who want the walkable arts cluster that Ms. Peterson also yearns for.

The results of what I’ve learned from the local stakeholders is incorporated into the framework of THE MISSION, the first phases of which will be completed in 2011. “The mission” of THE MISSION is to nurture, cultivate, and promote art, music, culture, sustainability, community, and non-profit organizations in Las Vegas. A mixed-use campus of boutique, artisan retailers and specialty restaurants will also feature art galleries, a live music experience nightly on Boulder Avenue, creative offices, and banquet event space. THE MISSION will be looking to bring a First Friday atmosphere to the 18b Arts District on a daily basis. The staff at THE MISSION will also be stewards of the 18b Arts District by providing information and walking maps of other local attractions.

THE MISSION will be located directly across from THE ARTS FACTORY on the city block bounded by Boulder, First, Coolidge, and Casino Center at the ACE Gold Line Stop #6. For more information, check out http://www.themissionlasvegas.com.