Strong Cities Strong Communities Las Vegas winners announced; City Council votes to accept judges’ recommendation to award cash prizes totaling $800,000 in economic development competition funded by U.S. EDA

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Six teams that submitted proposals for consideration in Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Las Vegas, a global economic development challenge, were awarded a total of $800,000 in cash prizes following a vote today by the Las Vegas city council. The winning teams were recommended by a volunteer selection committee of seven well respected business and community leaders who reviewed the plans and heard presentations by the participating teams. Representing the selection committee at city council with its recommendations were Don Snyder, presidential advisor, UNLV; and Jason Mendenhall, executive vice president, Cloud, Switch SUPERNAP.  

Other selection panel members include Tina Quigley, general manager, Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada; Curtis Myles, president and CEO, Las Vegas Monorail Company; Jonas Peterson, president and CEO, Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance; Rich Worthington, president, The Molasky Companies; and Betsy Fretwell, manager, city of Las Vegas.

Also on hand for the announcement was U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Jay Williams. The competition was federally funded with a $1 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Secretary Williams congratulated the city of Las Vegas on the innovative proposals they received through the SC2 competition. “The competitive SC2 Visioning Challenge was designed to spark economic development in communities that have faced significant long-term challenges in developing and implementing their economic strategies. I congratulate the city of Las Vegas and all of the strategists for working with us to build local capacity and spur economic growth.”

A first place cash prize of $500,000 was awarded to “Build a Better Las Vegas,” a local multi-disciplinary team of professionals that developed a proposal to create an Unmanned Aerial & Robotics Resource Center at Cashman Center. Members of the winning team include Brandon Wiegand, Zachary Conine, Michael Russell, Sallie Doebler and Curt Carlson.

A second place cash prize of $100,000 was awarded to “Strain/Stalk,” a team led by local architect Eric Strain and community developer Arnold Stalk for their plan to develop a mixed-use Mid-Strip Main Street project. A third place cash prize of $75,000 was awarded to team Gensler, a global integrated architecture and design firm with offices in Las Vegas, which developed a proposal for Cashman Center as a geographic center for sustainability that will attract and establish sustainable businesses. A fourth place cash prize of $50,000 was awarded to Don Alejandro’s Texan Inc, Villa Latina led by local businessman Alejandro Alvarez to create a multi-cultural center focusing on the Hispanic community at Cashman Center. In a tie for fourth place, a second cash prize of $50,000 was also awarded to Every Neighborhood Needs an Architect, a team led by UNLV visiting professor of architecture, Mark Roddy, and UNLV assistant professor architecture, Joshua Vermillion, whose plan includes a prototype to demonstrate how blighted properties can be reimagined in the city’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA) 2. And finally, a fifth place cash prize of $25,000 was awarded to HERServices led by Las Vegas businesswoman Diane Hale to establish a “Las Vegas Green Sustainable District” also within the city’s RDA.

According to Snyder and Mendenhall, who made the recommendations at city council today, the grand prize winning plan, while initially proposed for Cashman Center, can be easily adapted for other valley locations for added flexibility. “Unmanned aerial vehicles and robotics are rapidly growing industries that have broad applications for a wide range of businesses,” said Snyder. “Establishing a true resource center where research and development, manufacturing and design and testing occurs under one roof will create synergy, attract and retain talent, generate jobs and put Las Vegas on the map as a leader in this exciting and emerging field.” Hosted by the city of Las Vegas, SC2 Las Vegas was launched in early 2014 and drew interest from 49 states and 48 countries. Following an initial administrative review, 17 teams advanced to compete in phase one during which their proposals were judged by another panel of volunteer community leaders. Phase one judging resulted in 10 teams that advanced to compete in the final round.

“The winning proposals are very exciting, innovative and creative,” said Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman, city of Las Vegas. “We are especially appreciative of all the teams that took the time to think out of the box with new and fresh ideas for our city, and we are grateful to our esteemed panels of judges who spent considerable time carefully and thoughtfully reviewing the proposals.

SC2 is a prestigious international prize competition awarded in 2012 to three U.S. cities: Las Vegas, Nevada; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Hartford, Connecticut. In Las Vegas, winning plans were required to match the city’s needs, offer a feasible roadmap toward implementation, and represent innovative perspectives on economic development.

For more information on the Las Vegas Strong Cities, Strong Communities Challenge, please visit https://lasvegas.sc2prize.com/

For any questions, contact Melissa Warren at Faiss Foley Warren Public Relations at [email protected].   

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Strong Cities Strong Communities Las Vegas phase one winners announced; City Council votes to accept judges’ recommendation to award phase one prizes, advance 10 teams to second round

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Ten teams that submitted proposals for consideration in Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Las Vegas, a global economic development challenge, have advanced to phase two of the competition following a vote today by the Las Vegas city council. The council also voted to award phase one prizes to the top three proposals as recommended by the SC2 evaluation panel comprised of community leaders. Representing the panel at city council were SC2 judges Myron Martin, president and CEO, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, and Steve Chartrand, president and CEO, Goodwill of Southern Nevada. 

A first place cash prize of $60,000 was awarded to “Build a Vibrant Las Vegas,” a local multi-disciplinary team of professionals that developed a proposal to create an unmanned aerial and robotics resource center at Cashman Center; a second place cash prize of $30,000 was awarded to a team of professionals from Gensler, a global integrated architecture and design firm with offices in Las Vegas, which developed a proposal for Cashman Center to become a geographic center for sustainability that will attract and establish sustainable businesses; and a third place cash prize of $10,000 was awarded to Strain/Stalk, a team comprised of local architect Eric Strain and community developer Arnold Stalk, for their plan to develop a mixed-use Mid-Strip/Main Street project.

Funded by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and hosted by the city of Las Vegas, SC2 Las Vegas drew interest from 49 states and 48 countries. Following an initial administrative review, 17 teams advanced to compete in phase one.

The qualified participating teams are primarily comprised of professionals from local architectural, development and business firms with UNLV faculty representation on three teams and potential UNLV collaboration cited in proposals from four additional teams. Two of the 17 proposals were submitted by teams from out of state and half of the proposals focused on new ideas for Cashman Center; six focused on projects within the city’s Redevelopment area; and two offered ideas for business parks.

“Overall, we are very impressed with some of the innovative ideas in the phase one submissions,” said Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman. “Our judges spent a great deal of time reviewing and scoring these proposals, to ensure fairness. We are confident in their recommendations and look forward to seeing these winning ideas developed even further during phase two of the competition.”

SC2 is a prestigious international prize competition awarded in 2012 to three U.S. cities: Las Vegas, Nevada; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Hartford, Connecticut. In Las Vegas, winning plans must match the city’s needs, offer a feasible roadmap toward implementation, and represent innovative perspectives on economic development.

For more information on the Las Vegas Strong Cities, Strong Communities Challenge, please visit https://lasvegas.sc2prize.com/

For any questions, contact Melissa Warren at Faiss Foley Warren Public Relations at Melis[email protected].   

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Registration reopens for Strong Cities Strong Communities Las Vegas, Aug. 19-21

Las Vegas, Nev. --- Registration will briefly reopen for Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Challenge for the city of Las Vegas, a federally funded economic development planning competition designed to seek winning and transformative economic development ideas.  New and existing registrants will have an opportunity to register, add to their teams, and/or finalize their participation in the SC2 Challenge beginning Aug. 19 at 8 a.m. PDT and ending Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. PDT. 

Registration is a multiple-step process that includes receipt of a confirmation email.  Registrants are required to follow the steps contained in the confirmation email to complete the registration process and be eligible to participate in the competition.  Successful completion of registration allows registrants to log onto the SC2 website. Every participant on each team must complete registration. If team members register as a corporation or entity, other employees from the same corporation or entity may participate without individual registration.

To log on, to register, to confirm registration or to complete registration, visit https://lasvegas.sc2prize.com/

For additional questions, please email [email protected].   

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Cashman Center Tour and Q&A for potential SC2 Participants: June 25

A special opportunity is being provided exclusively for potential SC2 participants considering a proposal for Cashman Center. Potential participants will be able to tour the facility and engage in a Q&A afterwards. Please RSVP by June 23 to [email protected]

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City of Las Vegas launches Strong Cities, Strong Communities Challenge: $900,000 of cash prizes available for effective solutions to help grow the local economy

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The city of Las Vegas is proud to announce the launch of its Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Challenge, a prestigious international competition that will award $900,000 in prizes for the most innovative, creative, and transformational economic development plans to help revitalize targeted areas within the city.  The SC2 Challenge is federally funded by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). It was awarded in 2012 to three U.S. cities:  Las Vegas, Nevada; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Hartford, Connecticut.

The goal of the competition is to assist participating cities, including Las Vegas, in cultivating well-conceived, innovative ideas to revitalize four targeted areas within the community:  Cashman Center, the Las Vegas Medical District, business parks, and existing Redevelopment projects.

”Participating in the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Challenge is exciting for our city,” said Carolyn G. Goodman, mayor of the city of Las Vegas.  “Las Vegas is known for its big, larger-than-life personality, so seeking big, out-of-the-box ideas is right in sync with our culture.  We consider it a privilege to tap into the best and brightest minds globally and look forward to receiving some exciting, dynamic and innovative plans that will help specific areas of our city thrive and grow.”

The city is reaching far and wide to solicit the most qualified multidisciplinary teams in the fields of land planning, urban design and other related fields to participate in this SC2 Challenge. The list of potential candidates includes leading professional firms and universities locally, regionally, and globally. This local and international approach to outreach will ensure the best and brightest have the chance at the $500,000 grand prize; and Las Vegas will have several top notch economic redevelopment ideas at its disposal.

Winning plans must match Las Vegas’s needs, offer a feasible roadmap toward implementation, and represent innovative perspectives on economic development. Every winning idea or plan garnered from this SC2 competition can be pursued by the city at any time, so every cash winner will contribute to the pool of ideas for the city’s consideration.    

The competition will be divided into two phases:

• During phase one, multidisciplinary teams will submit economic vision proposals to the city of Las Vegas for one of the four target areas.
• The top three proposals, as scored by members of an evaluation panel, will be submitted to the Las Vegas City Council to approve the receipt of cash prizes of $60,000 (1^st place), $30,000 (2^nd place), and $10,000(3^rd place), respectively. They and any other selected finalists will advance to phase two.
• In phase two, finalists’ ideas will be expanded into comprehensive economic development plans for formal presentation and review by an esteemed panel of judges. Winners will be chosen from the finalists to receive prizes from the total phase two pool of $800,000 – no strings attached.

The winning finalists are available to receive any of the following cash rewards (pending Las Vegas City Council approval):

• 1^st place:  $500,000
• 2^nd place:  $100,000
• 3^rd place:  $75,000
• 4^th place:  $50,000
• 5^th place:  $50,000
• 6^th place:  $25,000

Phase one winners will be announced in November 2014, and the phase two winners will be selected in May 2015.  

For more information on the Las Vegas Strong Cities, Strong Communities Challenge, please visit lasvegas.sc2prize.com or contact Karen Griffin at Faiss Foley Warren Public Relations in Las Vegas at [email protected].  

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