Chamber of Commerce finds new home in downtown Las Vegas

A view of the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in the Symphony Park development in downtown Las Vegas Monday Feb. 28, 2012.

After leaving its offices at Town Square last year, a Las Vegas business group has found a new home in an unlikely place.

The Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce is moving into the Smith Center for the Performing Arts. The business advocacy group, now based in the southwest valley, plans to open its doors at the downtown concert hall on Monday.

The chamber, which boasts about 5,000 member businesses, is leasing about 15,000 square feet in the Boman Pavilion building, chamber spokeswoman Cara Clarke said. The building is home to the Troesh Studio Theater and the Cabaret Jazz venue.

The chamber is taking space on the ground floor for its business center, a conference room and some offices, and space on the fifth floor for executive and other staff members’ offices. Work crews have been building out the offices for the chamber.

When the chamber left Town Square last year, after subleasing its offices to Silicon Valley solar-panel installer SolarCity Corp., it asked members where they wanted the group to move its offices. They overwhelmingly wanted the chamber downtown because of the area’s accessibility and energy, Clarke said.

At the Smith Center, the chamber will be near a range of government entities and agencies, including the Clark County Government Center and Las Vegas City Hall.

Clarke said there isn’t much available space downtown that fits the chamber’s needs for offices and parking for staff and members.

Downtown’s office market has an 11 percent vacancy rate, by far the lowest among the valley’s submarkets and well below the valleywide average of 19 percent, according to Colliers International.

Smith Center officials weren’t trying to rent the space before the chamber deal came about, President and CEO Myron Martin said. The chamber is the only office tenant there.

The group is moving from offices at Sunset Road and Durango Drive. It moved there last May after the SolarCity deal.

At the time, chamber CEO Kristin McMillan said the group would work from the new offices until permanent space was found.

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