Since Nevada’s Clark County established Filipino Town in April of this year, new cultural projects have been on the horizon for the area.
The district stretches 1.2 miles on Maryland Parkway from Desert Inn Road to Flamingo Road.
Filipinos are the fastest-growing ethnic group in Nevada. Currently, there are over 200,000 residents of Filipino descent.
Rozita Lee, a cultural ambassador for the AAPI community and a Las Vegas resident for more than 40 years, led the development of Filipino Town.
In an interview with 8 News Now, Lee shared how she kickstarted the idea.
“I was the one that went to see Commissioner Tick Segerblom, and I asked him what the possibility was of having a designated area for Filipinos, because there are 250,000 of us in Las Vegas now and we are growing,” she said.
Lee described her plans for an institution that would honor Filipino heritage.
“The museum is an entity that we feel will draw people and educate people about our culture. Timo of Boulevard Mall was kind enough to open a space for us,” she said.
She recently spoke to KNPR’s State of Nevada in a podcast episode about other future developments.
“A lot of the Filipino organizations were talking about a Filipino center. And I’ve been working on that, as a matter of fact. We will be having a center eventually,” she said.
When asked about why many Filipinos have gravitated to the area, Lee discussed the city’s thriving businesses.
“I think it’s the economy. I think that’s a welcoming aspect because they come from cities or places where the economy is so expensive,” she added.
Lee expressed how she hoped the developments would impact the town.
“We have about 43 Filipino organizations. This is the time to unite the Filipinos,” she said.
President and General Manager of Boulevard Mall, Timo Kuusela, told 8 News Now about the possibility of the debut of multiple Filipino businesses.
“Currently, we’re in discussions with several companies, and we hope to see them opening up here in the next six months or so,” he said.
Registration is closed for Common Ground: Building Together conference and gala award banquet in San Francisco on January 24. A shoutout to our planning committee: Jane Chin, Frank Mah, Jeannie Young, Akemi Tamanaha, Nathan Soohoo, Mark Young, Dave Liu, and Yiming Fu.
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