Exterior of 814 S. 3rd St. in the Las Vegas Arts District rendering by Alexia Chen

THIRD STREET:

Igniting Innovation, Incubation & Inspiration

BY KENDALL HARDIN

The THIRD Street project in Las Vegas, billed as the city’s first multi-venue, multidisciplinary arts and media incubator, has signed a 31-year lease to secure its future at 814 S. 3rd St.

Originally built as a multi-screen cinema complex — formerly known as the Eclipse Theaters, Art Houz Theaters and Downtown Cinemas — THIRD Street is now ground zero for a spectacular new home for the arts.

Boasting marquee magician Teller (half of Penn & Teller) as honorary ambassador, the THIRD Street project is spearheaded by Daz Weller of Vegas Theatre Company (VTC); Ginger Land-van Buuren of Vegas City Opera; Robert Lee and Kelsey Borlan of Laugh After Dark Comedy; Taras Krysa of the Las Vegas Sinfonietta; and project architect Alexia Chen.

Building a Quantum Leap for the Arts

The building currently houses eight cinemas, a restaurant and an event space, accessed by escalator from the reception lobby. THIRD Street’s vision is to transform the space into a campus for production, performance and education for artists and creative workers – while providing a quantum leap for the local creative arts industry and future audiences.

“THIRD Street Arts and Media Incubator will be Nevada’s first comprehensive media, arts and production facility,” explained Daz Weller, co-founder of VTC and CEO of the THIRD Street venture.

“The building will house industry-ready stages and studios, film and broadcast production infrastructure, hands-on workforce training and cultural programming, becoming a true collaborative center for arts and culture in Las Vegas.”

Planned for the first phase are six performance and production venues, including a 250-seat proscenium theater, a 150-seat black box soundstage, two 60-seat screening rooms, a 400-person event space and rehearsal hall, and a full media production studio. A 600-seat theater and large-scale production studio will be added in the second phase.

“THIRD Street is the answer to questions Las Vegas has been asking for decades,” said Ginger Land-van Buuren, executive director of Vegas City Opera, in a press release. “Where do we go to tell our stories, train our talent and create something truly our own? This is where creativity takes center stage, and the world takes notice.”

Culture at a Crossroads

Without a dedicated incubator for homegrown work, local artists and cultural groups lack affordable rehearsal and performance spaces, as well as leading-edge training and resources to build sustainable careers. This leads to “talent flight” as local creative workers seek opportunities elsewhere.

Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World, boasts an astonishing array of high-end performance spaces graced by world-class talent and unparalleled production values both on and off the Strip. But the city has become “venue-poor” in keeping up with the needs of a burgeoning local arts and culture industry bursting at the seams.

THIRD Street will help anchor Las Vegas as a cultural and creation capital, powering a thriving creative economy in Nevada — one that can ultimately reach audiences around the world. It will champion Vegas-produced creativity by providing production and performance spaces, immersive education and workforce development, as well as unique cultural programming and a collaborative home base for artists to develop, produce and share original work.

“Innovation” at THIRD Street means fearlessly building what’s next by incubating new ideas and connecting with emerging technology while supporting artists as they launch new work. “Community” at THIRD Street means everyone belongs, with open access, critical connections and shared experiences.

Workforce Training in Partnership with CSN

Education is central to THIRD Street’s mission. It’s the engine that runs through every stage, studio, rehearsal room and public program.
It’s not an add-on, a sidetrack, or a separate division, but connective tissue of the campus — shaping how work is made, how artists grow and how the wider community participates in the creative life of Las Vegas.

Beginning this spring, through a dual-enrollment partnership with the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), foundational coursework in theater, film, digital media and broadcasting will be launched while the campus is under construction, allowing students to earn certification upon graduation from CSN in media and technical fields.

THIRD Street will also offer introductory classes for children and youth and extend advanced training to teens, emerging professionals, adults and seniors. The curriculum spans the full spectrum of performance and production skills, including acting, directing, voice and movement; design, stagecraft, lighting and sound; film and media production; technical operations; storytelling; arts administration and creative entrepreneurship.

Technology to Forge Creative Careers

As production facilities come online, classroom programs will evolve into fully immersive, hands-on learning experiences inside real productions at THIRD Street. In-house film and sound offerings will expand to include audio engineering, camera operations, editing, live streaming and broadcast production.

Students will link classroom instruction with direct experience inside live productions, working alongside professional artists, designers and technical directors. Technology and mentorship are built into the architecture of THIRD Street so that every production, residency and project functions as a learning environment to build careers.

This model, in turn, creates multiple pathways to employment across Nevada’s entertainment, hospitality and media industries.

Creating a Pipeline for Intellectual Property

Approximately 30 months into operations, when the film and sound studio is fully online, THIRD Street will initiate digital media content creation and licensing.

This expansion enables students and resident companies to participate in the recording, editing and distribution of Vegas-created work as intellectual property (IP) to audiences beyond Las Vegas. In this way, THIRD Street’s film and music operation also becomes a revenue source for the incubator.

Productions will hire Nevada-based crews, performers, educators and creative vendors to strengthen the state’s creative workforce and expand year-round job opportunities.

This ecosystem establishes a full creative and economic pipeline: training talent, employing them on professional productions, developing new IP and distributing assets to regional and global audiences with a return on investment.

Cultural Programming with Community Engagement

THIRD Street will host screenings, performances, festivals, lectures, workshops and community events that activate the campus and reflect the cultural diversity of Las Vegas. These programs deepen audience engagement, expand access to creative experiences and contribute to tourism, visibility and long-term cultural growth for the Las Vegas Arts District and the city.

“Core to our vision is the arc of experience,” Weller said. “From engaging through the website, to parking, dining and remaining in the space after seeing a performance or taking a class, we want people to commune with others afterward.

“It will be worth leaving your home for. THIRD Street also means third space — not your home, not your work, but a place to exchange ideas.”

The Campaign to Ignite the Future

To realize its mission and vision, THIRD Street has raised nearly $1 million toward its $5 million goal to retrofit its new home.

THIRD Street will occupy approximately 41,500 square feet — encompassing the lobby, all eight cinemas, the third-floor event hall and key support areas, with a right of first refusal on roughly 7,000 square feet of adjacent bar and restaurant and retail space to accommodate future growth.

The primary goal of the capital campaign is to fund the space conversions and early operating needs required to launch the campus.

A Cinderella Model to Inspire Other Cities

World-famous magician Teller says he and partner Penn Jillette, now celebrating 50 years as a duo, built their careers in theaters like THIRD Street.

“The scale of space gives new artists a chance to be seen in the best possible light, with the best possible support,” Teller said. “Now that Vegas is a real place with a growing arts scene, this is something we can’t afford to live without.”

He added, “The arts are not just a business or a decoration, but an essential infrastructure.”

Mayor Shelley Berkley also backs the initiative.

“THIRD Street will create a one-of-a-kind destination for artistic expression, learning and entrepreneurship,” Berkley said. “This dynamic redevelopment aligns with the city’s long-term goals for economic diversification, downtown revitalization and community engagement.

“Together, we can ensure this project not only transforms a property, but also uplifts lives — building a more creative, prosperous and inclusive future for all who call Las Vegas home.”

THIRD Street’s facility, already fully built in a prized location, awaits strategic, turnkey renovations to reshape the space and bring the project’s vision to life.

“This opportunity to build a legacy cultural establishment — the likes of which hasn’t been imagined in Vegas — will take months, not years,” Weller said. “We are transforming what’s here into what’s next.

“This project and our team are dedicated to creating jobs, training the next generation and ensuring our community has a space to dream, learn and connect for decades to come.”

The THIRD Street capital campaign invites visionaries, advocates and everyday supporters to help transform THIRD Street into a living campus that incubates Las Vegas talent by uniting performance, education and new technology to create work that begins here and resonates everywhere. To contribute or volunteer, visit thirdstreet.vegas.