UNLV eyes downtown Las Vegas office space for courses, student services

UNLV may open a satellite office in the heart of downtown Las Vegas.

UNLV Interim President Chris Heavey presented a proposal Thursday to rent space in the city of Las Vegas’ Civic Center and Plaza to provide in-demand courses and student services during a Board of Regents meeting in Reno.

“The idea will be, we’ll offer a range of services for the community that’ll be accessible to people who don’t always have the ability to make it all the way over to our Maryland Parkway campus,” Heavey said.

The proposal, titled UNLV @ Civic Plaza, would place supplemental UNLV admissions, financial aid, registrar and advising services inside the $190 million development, located at 525 S. Main St., which opened in September.

The satellite office would also offer pathways to earn certificates in high-growth fields, small business support and clinics for legal and cybersecurity services, according to a briefing paper on the board meeting’s agenda. Heavey added that programming would be flexible to meet the needs of the community.

Heavey said terms with the city have not yet been finalized, but he expected UNLV would pay $50,000 per month to rent 15,000 square feet of space in the Civic Center through leases that would last up to 20 years. He added that the city would help cover as much as 40 percent of the estimated $5 million in tenant improvement costs.

“The university is bursting at the seams currently with lack of space for new faculty and staff and administrators,” Heavey said. “This square footage will give us the ability to provide space for people who we’re struggling to find space for on the main campus.”

Heavey said UNLV expects to return to the board in September with an action item related to the UNLV @ Civic Plaza project.

Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley said in an emailed statement that she believes the project will expand access to education, workforce development and community service opportunities in Southern Nevada.

“I am looking forward to having our new neighbors located in downtown Las Vegas,” she said.

Dina Babsky, the city’s director of economic and urban development, told the board that the Vegas Chamber and Workforce Connections moved into the Civic Center last year. The secretary of state’s office is planning to move into the building next week, she added.

“This is not just about us filling space in our beautiful, brand-new Civic Plaza. It’s more about strengthening the connection between higher education, workforce development, innovation and economic growth,” Babsky said.

She added: “Having UNLV as an addition would be just absolutely fantastic to the ecosystem that we’re trying to create.”

Babsky and other UNLV officials are expected to give a report about the project proposal to the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday.