Amid fears of gentrification, one Marble Manor resident is happy to uproot

Rick Kinsey says relocating from Marble Manor with government help is a good deal. He’s eager to leave the neighborhood behind.

Rick Kinsey on January 12, 2025 inside his home at Marble Manor. By DJ Mahummad

Las Vegas Convention Center housekeeper Rick Kinsey, 37, is eager to leave his longtime neighborhood behind as part of the first group in a phased-out demolition and rebuilding project expected to be completed by 2033. 

After living at Marble Manor Public Housing project for most of his life, he finally sees a way out—through the City of Las Vegas HUNDRED Plan, or the Historic Urban Neighborhood Design Redevelopment Plan. It seeks to “revitalize” the region—an area with an average median household income of $25,000 yearly, or half of the city’s overall average. 

Kinsey’s outlook starkly contrasts fears of gentrification.

“That Vons couldn't stay open for nothing in this world because people wanted to rob it blind,” Kinsey said when discussing the neighborhood’s challenges. (The Vons was run over by thieves, which included its management.)

Under the revitalization plan, city officials must relocate 450 residents of Marble Manor to reconstruct an “urban infill project” funded by a $50,000,000 Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. During construction, tenants can transfer housing vouchers to other public housing projects in the city, with promises of return options after construction of new homes.

Tenants also have the option to apply for federal Section 8 vouchers, which Kinsey did. He was approved last month. 

“No, please. No,” Kinsey said about moving to another housing project. “Living here was hard enough.”

Last year, 44,000 people were reportedly on the Section 8 waitlist in Southern Nevada. Under the revitalization plan, Marble Manor residents will circumvent the waitlist and receive up to $900 to cover moving expenses.

Growing up in the redlined area with few healthy food options, old infrastructure and crime, Kinsey views his government-backed removal from the region as a blessing. Still, a landlord must approve his rental application before he can relocate. He’s optimistic and believes “everything” will change when he leaves. 

His hope for a better future is shaped by a past deeply rooted in struggle. At age 22, Kinsey took over his mother’s housing voucher following her passing from diabetes and high blood pressure. He said she died from a massive stroke a year after her doctor refused to treat her for failure to comply with medical advice. It happened in a unit across the street from his current apartment—where he lived and grew up.

“She still was eating all the foods and wasn't listening to [doctors],” Kinsey said about his mother. “So the [doctor] said they didn't want her as a patient no more.”

Her struggle was part of a larger issue affecting the community. Marble Manor is nestled in a food desert—a label the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines as a place “lacking access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and other foods that make up a full and healthy diet.” In 2023, KNPR reported that one in four residents in Las Vegas’ Historic Westside, where Marble Manor is located, are food insecure—the highest rate in Las Vegas.

The region is also a food swamp. According to the National Library of Medicine, a food swamp is a place with a “high density of establishments selling high-calorie fast food and junk food, relative to healthier food options.”

Kinsey now battles high blood pressure while navigating the challenges of staying employed and housed in Nevada, which has its own uniqueness. 

According to Princeton's Eviction Lab, Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, has one of the highest eviction rates in the country. Unlike other places, Nevada is an “employment at will” state, meaning an employer can “fire whoever they want, when they want, for whatever reason they want, with limited exceptions,” according to Nevada Legal Services.

For Kinsey, the uncertainty of housing and employment fuels his desire for stability. Though grateful for the assistance through housing, he yearns for a future beyond the projects, where safe, healthy living no longer feels like an abstract idea but becomes a reality. His dream is simple: a different neighborhood with basic amenities and a sense of peace.

“I want just a bigger tub and a little patio and I’ll be cool,” he said.

Despite the significant changes planned for the area, details about the relocation process remain unclear. The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority (SNRHA) did not respond to multiple requests for comments when asked for details on the status of relocations. 

The City of Las Vegas, a co-grantee for the Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant, diverted all relocation questions to the SNRHA, the lead grantee. According to the SNRHA website, the company provides affordable housing to low—and moderate-income households.

Marble Manor has been a cornerstone of public housing in Las Vegas since its establishment in 1953 after World War II. Over the years, it expanded to include 235 units, offering one-to four-bedroom dwellings for families needing affordable housing. 

The latest revitalization plan will demolish Marble Manor and nearby houses to create more than 600 “mixed-income units” for the region. This is also a part of the City of Las Vegas 2050 Master Plan, which seeks to accommodate 300,000 new residents as the city continues to grow and evolve.