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By Hillary Davis

The Las Vegas Sun

LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� A few weeks into setting up shop at the farmers market outside the recently renovated Henderson City Hall, Rose Nixon is seeing community form from the booth where she sells handmade soaps.

The market is one of the many hyper-local attractions to be found on Water Street, a venerable strand of old-town Henderson (about 15 miles southeast of Las Vegas) that is looking optimistically into a new age.

Nixon, a one-time food and beverage manager on the Las Vegas Strip who now crafts soaps and sugar scrubs in her kitchen in nearby Boulder City, remembers an aged Water Street that needed refreshment. Now the area is a mix of businesses, homes and green space, and she鈥檚 seeing repeat customers already.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 cool,鈥� she聽said at the farmers market. 鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful now.鈥�

After a financially and socially crushing year everywhere, revitalization now flows on Henderson鈥檚 Water Street: a new ice rink and a sports bar to go with it, face-lifts for two locals-friendly casinos, and significant improvements to a plaza, all within recent months.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to succeed because it鈥檚 at critical mass now,鈥� said Scott Muelrath, president and chief executive of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce. 鈥淚t鈥檚 here to stay.鈥�

Water Street was the heart of early Henderson when it was the company town for the Basic Magnesium Plant, providing 鈥渕iracle metal鈥� for the World War II effort. The mostly low-slung storefronts and promenades on the lively three-quarter-mile stretch reflect its mid-century Main Street heritage.

Anything that鈥檚 been around that long will need upkeep though.

Tim Brooks, owner and general manager of the Emerald Island and Rainbow Club casinos, said the turning point into the current renaissance came when the Henderson Convention Center was demolished in 2019 to make way for the $26 million Lifeguard Arena.

The 120,000-square-foot building, the practice facility for the Henderson Silver Knights, opened in November 2020. It serves as a community gathering and skating center when the Silver Knights, the minor league affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, aren鈥檛 on the ice. The arena got people鈥檚 attention when it opened, Brooks said.

For foot traffic, the facility is a feeder to the family-friendly Sticks Tavern, which opened across the street (the pub is more literally a feeder to anyone who comes in) this past spring. Sticks Tavern is one of about 20 places to eat or drink in the district. A sushi-tapas fusion spot, Chinitas, is set to open any day now. A boba tea spot is also coming soon.

For gaming and eating in one stop, there鈥檚 a tight circuit of the Rainbow Club, Emerald Island and The Pass 鈥� formerly known as Eldorado Casino. Boyd Gaming sold the Eldorado last year to smaller local operator DeSimone Gaming, which upgraded and rebranded it as The Pass in a $5 million project before reopening in April.

Brooks, who bought and refreshed the 54-year-old Rainbow Club last year with his twin brother, Mike, brought in a culinary director from one of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse鈥檚 Strip eateries.

Between dining and entertainment, if you live in east Henderson, you don鈥檛 have to devote a half-hour of freeway driving to the Strip and back for an evening out, Brooks said.

鈥淵ou get more bang for your buck,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 good.鈥�

Mixed-use projects in the pipeline will also bring apartments to Water Street, alongside more restaurants, offices and shop space. The one under construction closest to Lifeguard Arena, called The Watermark, is set to open in early 2022. It鈥檚 one of four parcels in the district slated to have mixed use or be available for it.

Most of the business spaces on Water Street are occupied by their owners, and that ensures their success, Muelrath said. Juan Vazquez of Juan鈥檚 Flaming Fajitas & Cantina works the popular Mexican grill that bears his name.

A space that once held a major sandwich shop franchise is now home to Las Vegas Kettle Corn. Brooks banters with regulars when they see him on the sidewalk. The Rainbow Club is new to his portfolio but he and his brother have owned the Emerald Island property for 20 years, and Brooks has lived in Henderson since 1998.

The city, which maintains its headquarters on Water Street next to the arena, in 1995 deemed Water Street and the greater downtown area as a redevelopment district. It鈥檚 one of five targeted 鈥渕ature鈥� areas that the city focuses on for reinvestment to attract businesses and maintain property values. (As a property owner itself, the city this past spring unveiled a renovated plaza with an amphitheater, a splash pad, a playground and a jumbo video screen.)

Though the area recently gained some high-profile attractions, the preparation had been in the works for decades, said Tiffany Reardon, who works in the city鈥檚 redevelopment office. The city upgraded the street鈥檚 infrastructure during the Great Recession.

鈥淲e like to call it a 30-year overnight success,鈥� Reardon said.