From Fox5 Las Vegas
Over 100 apartments to open next month as revitalization of Water Street continues
By Kim Passoth
Published: May 9, 2025 at 11:06 PM PDT
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The evolution of the original heart of Henderson, Water Street, continues.
Next month, a 151 unit apartment complex will finally open years after construction first began.
“Oh, man, it used to be really dead down here,” shared Stephanie Thomas who lives just a few blocks off Water Street. Now signs of revitalization are everywhere you look like a mural being hand painted.
When Henderson was founded in 1953, the downtown district was bustling. Over the decades, businesses shifted elsewhere leaving empty store fronts especially during the pandemic.
The hockey arena, now known as the America First Center, opened November 2020. Months later in April 2021, the apartments across the street broke ground but work stalled on the seven story structure for years.
“There was pretty much nothing and it was pretty rundown really when we started coming here,” recounted Luanne Strauser of Doty Originals. Strauser has been displaying her hand crafted jewelry for about 12 years during shows like this weekend’s Henderson Art Festival. Now she’s staying in a new hotel on Water Street.
“It’s close. We can walk. We don’t have to drive,” Stauser stated. Her booth is set up right in front of the new apartments. Construction of the mid-rise building resumed in February. Now called the Watermark, the development is designed to give those who move-in the ability to live, work and play within a walkable community, no car needed. The goal is to attract a new generation to Water Street like Noah Dods who moved to the area from Hawaii in 2023.
“This area is a lot more affordable than where I’m from… I’m an advocate for walkable towns and walkable cities, so this is definitely like a very open place for me to be,” Dods contended.
“It’s great being able to walk down here. We walk down here every time there’s a parade or an event,” Thomas reported. Thomas says it’s become a much nicer place to live in the last few years.
“There’s a lot of a lot more energy down here... It is really, really nice to live close by,” Thomas added.
The developer tells FOX5 the Watermark is scheduled to open mid-June. The 151 apartments, as well as 32,000 square feet of retail space, are being rented out now.
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