From Las Vegas Review-Journal
In this blog post: Las Vegas Film Studios & Multifamily Housing
‘An investment in Nevada’: Details emerge in Las Vegas film studio plan
Story by McKenna Ross, Las Vegas Review-Journal
• 22h •
3 min read
CARSON CITY — Proposed legislation expanding the state’s film tax credit program to lure Hollywood studios to Southern Nevada has captured the interest of some in the state, but state lawmakers questioned the finer details of a program that could cost the state up to $1.65 billion in unrealized tax revenue over its 15-year lifetime.
Members of the LiUNA Union listen in during a legislative hearing over bill AB238, which creates the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act, at the Nevada State Legislative Building Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Carson City.© Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS
Assembly Bill 238 would encourage the film industry to develop a campus of sound stages and ancillary production services in Las Vegas by offering transferable tax credits to studios that build out that infrastructure.
Co-sponsors of the bill, Assembly Members Sandra Jauregui and Daniele Monroe-Moreno said the proposed legislation — which is specifically tied to the Summerlin Studios project — could result in nearly 18,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs and a significant investment in media education and vocational training for Nevada students.
“We are building into this legislation, and through partnership agreements, curriculum and apprenticeship programs for K-12 and higher education students, including a 10,000- to 15,000-square-foot facility at UNLV, with millions in a dedicated funding stream and guaranteed internships for those students,” Monroe-Moreno, D-Las Vegas, told lawmakers during an Assembly Revenue Committee meeting Thursday. “I am very excited that we’re not only creating tens of thousands of new careers with this bill, but we’re also building a pipeline for the next generation of talent.”
Nevada Assembly Member Sandra Jauregui smiles during a legislative hearing over bill AB238, which creates the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act, at the Nevada State Legislative Building Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Carson City.© Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS
The proposal has generated significant interest in Southern Nevada and beyond. Over 100 people turned out to the hearing at the Las Vegas satellite location, with some standing in the back waiting to speak and others sitting in multiple overflow rooms. Construction union members filled the hearing rooms in Las Vegas and part of the Carson City room.
Vince Saavedra, secretary-treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building Trades Unions, told lawmakers in Carson City the bill helped more than the film industry.
A rendering of a studio lot is seen during a legislative hearing over bill AB238, which creates the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act, at the Nevada State Legislative Building Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Carson City.© Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS
“This is more than an investment in film,” Saavedra said during the roughly four-hour meeting. “It’s an investment in Nevada and Nevada’s working families.”
Nevada Assembly Member Sandra Jauregui speaks during a legislative hearing over bill AB238, which creates the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act, at the Nevada State Legislative Building Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Carson City.© Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS
Others pushed back on that idea.
The transferable tax credits could be applied against modified business taxes, insurance premium taxes, a gaming license fee or a combination of the three.
Lawmakers asked the bill sponsors and studio representatives how they can ensure the workforce will be made up of Nevadans. The bill requires at least half of the principal photography days of a qualified production take place in the state and requires a workforce plan that includes hiring underrepresented groups.
Related video: 2 competing film bills look to make Las Vegas 'Hollywood East' (KTNV Las Vegas, NV)
2 competing film bills look to make Las Vegas 'Hollywood East'
Simon Robinson, chief operating officer of Warner Bros. Discovery Studios, said finding local employees was part of the bill’s intention. He said the lack of available tax credits available in this biennium gives the studios time to develop a Nevada workforce.
“As a matter of practicality, filming a movie or show here in Nevada to get the tax credit and then shipping in 50, 60, 75 percent of the workforce doesn’t make economic sense for us,” Robinson said. “Part of what’s attractive to us about this because we believe that we can build a civil workforce here.”
Estimated economic impact
The studios would bring about 6,000 direct jobs with an estimated direct economic impact of $572 million, according to a fiscal and economic analysis by PFM Group Consulting. The total economic effect predicted when the studio project is complete is about $3 billion with an estimated 17,680 jobs, according to the analysis. Those estimates include indirect impacts, or the business-to-business purchases in the supply chain, and induced impacts, or the household spending predicted to be generated from the labor income.
Simon Robinson, Warner Bros Discovery Studios COO, speaks during a legislative hearing over bill AB238, which creates the Nevada Studio Infrastructure Jobs and Workforce Training Act, at the Nevada State Legislative Building Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Carson City.© Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS
The construction phase is estimated to generate more than 12,000 direct jobs over its seven to eight years of development, the analysis showed.
Another bill, Senate Bill 220, proposes a similar expansion of the film tax credit program to build a studio campus at UNLV’s Harry Reid Research and Technology Park in southwest Las Vegas. Sen. Roberta Lange, D-Las Vegas, told the Review-Journal last week that bill will likely have its first hearing in March.
— Reporter Jessica Hill contributed to this report.
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.
©2025 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Boring Co. pursues housing project linked to Las Vegas loop station
Story by Mick Akers, Las Vegas Review-Journal
• 1d •
2 min read
Elon Musk’s Boring Company plans to build a multifamily project with a connected loop station on a plot of land on Paradise Road, where most residents wouldn’t have personal vehicles.
The planned 132-unit, six-story, U-shaped structure, located at 4300 Paradise Road, also would feature a ground-level bodega with a drive-thru. A bar/lounge open only to residents of the building, a game room, gym and a courtyard would be located on the second floor, according to plans filed with Clark County.
It would have 24 parking spaces instead of the 189 spots that typically would be required because the majority of residents won’t need cars and will have access to the attached loop station, the project’s justification letter noted.
Boring Co.’s investor group has expertise in the residential space, with companies including Lennar, according to a person with knowledge of the situation told the Review-Journal.
A justification letter filed to the county said that the project is compatible with the other resorts, hotel-casinos and condominium towers in the surrounding area.
“The proximity to UNLV is also ideal, adding much-needed housing options adjacent to the school,” the project’s justification letter filed to the county said.
The Boring Company station would be part of the under-construction University Center Loop that will connect a Boring Co.-owned portion of land located between Paradise and University Center Drive, Virgin Hotel Las Vegas, the proposed property at 4300 Paradise, and the Las Vegas Convention Center.
At full buildout the Vegas Loop would offer 68 miles of loop, with 104 stations spread out across the resort corridor, downtown Las Vegas and other points of interest such as Allegiant Stadium.
The only portions operating now are four stations at the Las Vegas Convention Center, one at Resorts World and the newest station at Westgate. The next station to open is likely one being built at Encore.
Boring Co. and Clark County are working on issues related to fire safety protocols before the loop can further expand.
The 4300 Paradise property and project owner of the 1.3-acre site is Object Dash, an affiliate company of Boring Co., with the two entities sharing the same Texas address. The land was purchased in July for $6.4 million, according to Clark County records.
In January 2024, Boring Company also purchased the land the 1.8-acre parcel on Paradise located near where the University Center Loop project began.
The land use permit for the 4300 Paradise project, filed on Feb. 18, is under review by the county.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
©2025 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.