Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada hosted a construction tour for its donors and guests at its new Inspiration Center. The 40,000-square-foot building will become the hub of its financial literacy, workforce development and entrepreneurship efforts for K-12 students.
Located at 4440 E. Tropicana Ave., the former 24 Hour Fitness Center is being renovated to house two of the nonprofit organization’s capstone programs, JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. JA BizTown provides educators with lessons and resources to effectively integrate work and career readiness and financial literacy into the classroom. JA Finance Park helps students build a foundation upon which they can make intelligent financial decisions based on income, expenses, savings, and credit through in-class learning and a hands-on budget simulation.
Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada currently serves more than 20,000 students annually in the Las Vegas area. Upon completion, the new Inspiration Center will be able to impact more than 60,000 local students.
Renderings of the new Inspiration Center (Courtesy of knit architecture)
Among many of the organizations that have a present at the new Inspiration Center, PNC Bank is the only national bank in this center and has the largest storefront in BizTown. Denette Suddeth, Regional President and Head of Commercial Banking for PNC Bank in Nevada, has been a volunteer since Junior Achievement started in Las Vegas over 20 years ago.
“Junior Achievement addresses two of our community's most pressing issues: education and workforce development. And PNC has always been committed in the communities where we do business, work and play to help all move forward financially. So it is the perfect fit for PNC Bank and help our students of Clark County have incredible experiences,” said Suddeth. "BizTown is an opportunity where students get exposed to a bank, and sometimes for the first time, because their family may not have that experience. So to see what it takes to really have a career in the banking industry is a huge advantage."
Denette Suddeth joining the construction tour with other guests (Credit: Vegas Business Digest)
The center also will include an Entrepreneur Incubator Hub, Career Center and multi-purpose area, and it will be the home to Junior Achievement administrative offices.
The center is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024 with the first students participating in onsite programming in late spring.
