Nongaming, nonsmoking hotel project at Symphony Park takes next step

By Sean Hemmersmeier
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Symphony Park is one step closer to getting a nonsmoking and nongaming hotel concept open.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for the 441-room hotel concept that will bring a dual-branded AC Hotel by Marriott and an Element hotel by Westin to Symphony Park. The project is projected to open by late 2025 and sits across the street from The Smith Center along Promenade Place. Texas-based developer JacksonShaw is the developer.

“This is another great moment in the evolution of Symphony Park,” Las Vegas City Councilman Cedric Crear said during the event. “This is the hot spot of Las Vegas. I tell you, we have so many developers … that would love to be on this spot right now.”

JacksonShaw President and CEO Michele Wheeler said the current buildings in and around Symphony Park — including The Smith Center, Discovery Children’s Museum and World Market Center — make the area primed for a hotel that caters to visitors who are already coming to Symphony Park.

“We’ve been watching this area for a really long time, and everything that’s happening, specifically the catalyst was the World Market Center … and then all of this Southern Land (Company) development,” she said. “We just wanted to be a part of this area. We thought it was critical.”

Symphony Park is still growing with an anticipated art museum and multiple residential projects in development, including the 32-story Cello Tower and 545 apartments from Southern Land.

This array of development projects and the area being within walking distance of downtown Las Vegas should position it for positive growth well into the future, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said.

“When you look at design elements and other plans for what’s going to be here, it’s so exciting. It’s such a motivation for everything that’s going on,” she said.

‘Alternative’ hotel

Wheeler said since the dual-branded hotel concept is nonsmoking and nongaming, it should offer something unique for the Symphony Park and downtown area of Las Vegas and can host small conventions or gatherings, since the five-story building will have about 18,000 square feet of meeting space.

“For the financial service companies, pharmaceutical companies, all of the acts come in through the Smith (Center), everyone that’s coming to this center, all the UNLV medical areas, this is an alternative for them,” she said.

The two hotel brands in the project will also serve different types of guests, because the Element will have rooms with kitchenettes and is geared towards extended stay guests, while the AC brand will have more traditional rooms geared toward short-term visitors, Wheeler said.

The AC will have 322 rooms, and the Element will have 119 rooms. The hotel also will have a 24-hour fitness center and an outdoor pool and terrace.