Proposal to build tiny homes in downtown Las Vegas rejected

A proposed 12-unit “affordable” tiny home project was denied by the city of Las Vegas Planning Commission on Tuesday.

The tiny homes, proposed for 0.64 acres on the southwest corner of Bonneville Avenue and 3rd Street in downtown Las Vegas, would have been 10-foot-tall, 400-square-foot studios, consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, walk-in closet and kitchenette, according to the proposal. The units would have been prefabricated as a way not to “sink a lot of construction money into the project,” according to applicants Bonneville Center LLC.

Prior to the meeting, staff recommended denial on the project because it did not align with the 2045 Downtown Las Vegas Master Plan, which requires a higher level of “intensity and density” and emphasizes mixed-use developments for the area. The staff said the project is “severely underdeveloped” for the site, which is adjacent to a 15-story, mixed-use condominium complex.

Additionally, according to the staff, the site is located in the Civic and Business District, which has multiple “vacant and underutilized” properties that serve as “as ideal locations for infill and redevelopment which promote an urban lifestyle.”

Planning Commission officials echoed the sentiments of the staff, saying they are looking for something “a little bit more dense” and on a “grander scale.”

The applicants said they have owned the lot for around 20 years and have struggled to develop it. The tiny homes were designed to be temporary before a larger project could be developed, such as a four- or five-story building.

“What I decided to do is to set up a 12-unit (project), for affordable workforce housing,” said Leo Flangas, a representative of Bonneville Center. “I’m not building it, or want to build it, because that’s [not] going to be the final project.”