LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Before his death, Tony Hsieh helped jumpstart the development of Fremont East. In the years that have followed, that drive to develop has continued.
Hsieh is an American internet entrepreneur. He retired as the CEO of Zappos and died Nov. 27, 2020.
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“This was Main Street, USA,” Paco Alvarez, a cultural anthropologist based in Las Vegas, told FOX5 about the area in the mid-20th century. “This was where people shopped and did all of their groceries and bought their clothes and all that.”
Alvarez grew up near Fremont Street, and like many who have seen the area grow up, he recognizes how different it is now. He gives much of the credit to Zappos founder and eccentric billionaire Tony Hsieh.
“He gave it an energy that it never had before,” Alvarez remembered. “No one was as transformative to downtown historically as was Tony Hsieh.”
Hsieh drove the development of unique and successful projects like Container Park and Ferguson’s.
“Creating an atmosphere not only for his employees at Zappos but also for the downtown ecosystem,” Alvarez said.
Some of that development, though, has not continued after Hsieh died four years ago.
“This was the Learning Village,” Alvarez pointed out during a walk down Fremont at 8th Street. “Once a month, they would invite the community and the employees of Zappos to come down here and learn about what the next plans were. What was the next restaurant? What was going to the next bar? This was a really, really important site. It’s sad to see it abandoned.”
Alvarez says much of the momentum Hsieh started has been lost.
“I’m afraid that with Tony’s passing, that energy is gone,” he said. “It’s going to be a long time before we see that energy again.”
“Definitely, without him pushing things forward, I think that we saw a little bit of a slowdown,” J Dapper, a Las Vegas-based developer, echoed.
Dapper is one of the developers trying to fill that void. Through Dapper Companies, he’s renovating the old Savings and Loan Building a block south of Fremont Street.
“We’ll probably end up naming it the S & L Building to tip our hats to its past history,” Dapper said.
When it’s done in a few months, the building will host several restaurants, two stories of creative workspaces and a post office. This kind of development represents what Alvarez says is key for the area to replicate the success of the Arts District—organic growth.
“Let’s really get the right people to buy these properties who are going to invest,” Alvarez said.
Dapper sees that happening.
“Now, what I think we have is a more diverse group of people all pushing in the same direction,” he said. “The people who are buying (properties) are very interested in being part of the evolution of Fremont East.”
Dapper thinks this evolution is happening even faster than before.
“I think that we actually have more momentum than we did when he had just one guy pushing things forward,” he opined. “I think over the next five years, we’re going to see big change. I think over the next ten years, we’re not going to recognize it.”
Alvarez agrees with Dapper’s rosy assessment.
“I see mid-rise buildings, block after block of small businesses, art galleries, bars, restaurants – really, this area becoming the place to be in Las Vegas,” he said when asked for his prediction of how the area will look in the future. “I think in the next 20-30 years, Fremont Street – downtown Las Vegas – is going to give the Strip a run for its money.”
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