Las Vegas wants operator for planned homeless courtyard

People sit on Foremaster Lane in Las Vegas, on Friday, April 28, 2017, in front of land that the city of Las Vegas is going to turn into a campus that will bring homeless providers together and give the homeless community a place to go during the day. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Volunteers for Clark County's annual homeless census walk past an encampment on West Owens Avenue in North Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. Patrick Connolly Las Vegas Review-Journal @PConnPie

The city of Las Vegas is looking for a nonprofit to operate the city’s planned Corridor of Hope courtyard.

Requests for proposals will be accepted through Tuesday from firms interested in staffing and operating the courtyard, modeled after a similar concept in San Antonio, Texas.

A temporary version of the Las Vegas courtyard, planned for a site at Foremaster Lane and Las Vegas Boulevard North, is expected to open this year.

The Las Vegas City Council in May approved a plan for the campus that will allow the city’s large homeless population to access a wide range of services in one location. The area where the courtyard is planned is close to a number of the city’s homeless shelters and other service providers, and is host to widespread street homelessness.

The courtyard is envisioned as a safe place where homeless people can find temporary shelter and an entry point for finding medical care, counseling, employment and housing. The temporary shelter will have security, shade structures and restrooms, and a permanent courtyard with offices for service providers will be built over the next two years.

The City Council is expected to vote next week on rezoning the property at the corner of Foremaster Lane and Las Vegas Boulevard to allow for public facilities.

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @Journo_Jamie_ on Twitter.