Downtown Action

Data centers, the relocation of zappos.com to downtown Las Vegas (See “Zappos Injecting New Life Into Las Vegas Downtown,” ENR Southwest, January 2013), and new entrepreneural initiatives are cited as evidence of the area’s aspirations to be a technology player.

“Switch has set the stage for Las Vegas to grow a data center cluster, which bodes well for the construction industry during the next few years,” says Las Vegas-based economist John Restrepo, whose RCG Economics advises state and municipal governments on economic development issues. “That said, the jury is still out on how long this wave will last and whether it will be a catalyst for additional ancillary commercial construction.”

Hoping to nudge the process along, Switch last year launched the InNEVation Center, a 40,000-sq-ft co-working space a near its southern Las Vegas headquarters. Partnering with government agencies, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and private development groups, InNEVation Center hopes to leverage the super high-speed connectivity offered by Switch with the commitment of the Silver State’s business and political establishment to create a technology industry in Las Vegas.

Technology seeds also are being scattered a dozen miles away, where the Downtown Project, a brainchild of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, works to create a community around the relocation of zappos.com to the site of the old city hall.

“The Downtown Project's VegasTechFund is a $50-million seed-stage investment fund that has invested in 20 startups over the last year,” says Kim Schaefer, a spokeswoman for the Downtown Project. “Those companies have become part of the VegasTech ecosystem, have created numerous jobs, and attracted top-notch talent to Las Vegas.”

UNLV, by far the state’s largest institution of higher learning, has sought to better plug the university community into the tech scene.

In late March it launched the UNLV Business Startup Center to assist students and faculty interested in entrepreneurship. While the center serves students across all of the university’s disciplines, technology is one of its focuses.

“We’ve been working with the tech sector to find out what its needs are, and to better connect the university community with technology companies,” says Robert Nielsen, director of the startup center.

Nielsen says Switch and Zappos executives regularly visit the campus to talk with students, and UNLV has new offices in the downtown and inNEVation tech centers.

“Everyone is trying to figure out how to work together,” he says.