On the Historic Westside, shovels hit the dirt Monday as district and city leaders joined parents, students and neighborhood groups to break ground on a new two-story Matt Kelly Elementary. The replacement campus is pitched as a cornerstone of a broader neighborhood revitalization, one that aims to honor Westside history while adding badly needed classroom and community space.
What the new school will include
The new $76 million campus is slated to feature a community resource center, an outdoor amphitheater, a garden and a learning kitchen where students can cook with produce they grow themselves, according to KTNV. Principal Jerrell Hall told the station that "Community input suggested what this building is going to be," underscoring that the design was shaped by neighborhood feedback rather than dropped in from afar.
Under the current plan, students will spend the coming school year on a swing campus and then return to the rebuilt Matt Kelly in fall 2027, district leaders told KTNV.
Old campus and temporary move
The original Matt Kelly campus opened in 1960, and students gave it a final sendoff this spring by ringing the school bell one last time before demolition, FOX5 reported in May. That coverage noted that demolition work kicked off in June and described the replacement campus as expected to open during the 2027–28 school year.
Part of a broader Westside rebuild
The new school is one piece of a longer list of projects bundled into the city's HUNDRED Plan for the Historic Westside, which links new housing, parks and commercial development with education and workforce training, according to the City of Las Vegas blog. That update points to efforts such as shareDOWNTOWN Westside and a HUD Choice Neighborhoods-funded overhaul of Marble Manor as part of a multi-million-dollar push to rebuild the corridor while keeping long-time residents connected to the neighborhood.
Community input and next steps
District records indicate the Matt Kelly replacement followed years of outreach, with trustees advancing the project after a facility planning process that weighed enrollment trends and site priorities, according to CCSD board minutes. Construction scheduling and contractor selection will move ahead as the district finalizes temporary placements for families and staff, and school leaders say the finished campus is intended to serve as both an education hub and a neighborhood resource, per the Matt Kelly plan.
Families who showed up for the groundbreaking sounded hopeful, if a bit guarded about the long wait. "They're going to be pretty happy," parent Taneisha Winchester said at the event, as reported by KTNV. City and district officials said construction will continue through the coming year as the Historic Westside keeps a close eye on how the promise of a new Matt Kelly Elementary takes shape.
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