Las Vegas Weekly

This week’s damn fine idea: Annex Neonopolis

Could the new city hall be Neonopolis on the left?

Photo: Steve Marcus

Given Mayor Goodman’s announcement last week that tepid bond and credit markets may have made it impossible to build a new city hall, a recent visit to the mostly empty Neonopolis has put the obvious idea in our head: Annex Neonopolis as a new city hall. Look, it makes perfect sense. It’s a retail space, which conforms to most people’s sense of how city government works anyway. Its empty movie theaters would be ideal for the Kabuki performance of public meetings, and popcorn would be a welcome addition to planning-commission sessions. Unlike the 10-story cold shoulder that is the current city hall, Neonopolis exists at street level, at a human scale; it’s approachable. All that and a food court. Not to mention plenty of nearby bars for Goodman. Like we say, perfect. And, of course, seating the city government in one of its most conspicuous redevelopment bungles might serve as a daily reminder that caution can be a virtue.