DVA Member Profiles – Sabrina Borghoff – February 2018

DVA Member Profiles – Sabrina Borghoff – February 2018

2/15/18

Sabrina Borghoff, Director of Business Development for Martin-Harris Construction has over 12 years’ experience in the construction industry. She joined Martin-Harris in 2013 as a Strategic Relationship Developer, focused on identifying new business opportunities and maintaining existing client relationships for the Special Projects Group. Throughout her tenure at Martin-Harris, she has built a reputation for developing strategies to expand new business relationships.

Borghoff answers a few questions about DTLV:

Have you always lived in Las Vegas? If not, where are you from and what brought you here?
I haven’t always lived in Las Vegas, but I consider myself A NATIVE I moved here with my family from Mesa, Arizona when I was 2 years old, not Battle Born but Battle Raised!

How long have you been with Martin Harris and what role do you play there?
I have been with the company for 4 ½ years. As a Director of Business Development, it is my TOP priority to maintain existing clients and ensure they stay satisfied and positive, by emphasizing their importance to Martin-Harris and ensure I meet both their current and future needs. As a Director of Business Development, I also strive to improve Martin-Harris Construction’s market position and achieve financial growth for the firm. I assist with long-term organizational strategic goals, build key customer relationships, identify business opportunities, negotiate and close business deals, and maintain extensive knowledge of current market conditions. It is my job to work alongside company executives, the business development team, and other managers to increase sales and maximize opportunities for Martin-Harris Construction.

Why did Martin Harris join the Downtown Vegas Alliance?
Martin-Harris joined DVA in 2014 to be part of the momentum around the Downtown Masterplan and assist in the future growth and redevelopment of downtown Las Vegas. The opportunity to collaborate with clients such as The Molasky Group and Golden Nugget, which are also stakeholders of downtown Las Vegas,  creates synergy for us.  Our company leaders, Frank and Guy Martin are also natives of Las Vegas so helping the downtown business environment to thrive again is of tremendous personal interest to them

What’s one thing that downtown lacks and how can the DVA and members like Martin Harris Construction bring that to fruition?
The DVA is doing a great job of advocating for the expansion of business and economic development, but we need to continue to work on diversifying the area. We can do this by bringing a better livable environment to the downtown, ensuring the streets are safe and clean, creating more public spaces for the residents, and developing and securing more amenities. Martin-Harris wants to help bring this to fruition by continuing to support the DVA with its initiatives, which demonstrates our mutual commitment to improving Downtown Las Vegas.

If you had visitors in town and could visit only one downtown location, which one would it be and why?
This is an extremely difficult question because I love the nightlife environment downtown. My husband and I often do Staycations at the Golden Nugget and dine at iconic restaurants such as Hugo’s Cellar and stroll through the bars off Fremont Street. To pick one spot is tough, but if I had to pick one place to visit that you wouldn’t be able to see anywhere else, it would be the old Post Office on Stewart Avenue that is now the Mob Museum. The Mob Museum provides an excellent, interactive journey through true stories of organized crime’s that helped to shape Las Vegas. It’s truly an only-in-Vegas experience.

Photo: Sabrina Borghoff

  • Dayvid Figler and Rae Lathrop

    DF: Downtown was great as a kid and it is even greater as an adult. I love all of downtown’s hidden gems, its vibrancy, history and sense of connection. Rae is relatively newer to Las Vegas, but just as passionate about downtown. Downtown lends itself to the shared experience, and as a couple we both love seeing this part of the city through each other's eyes. Photo: Lucky Wenzel

     

  • Rob Ponte

    Some of the best nights I’ve experienced started out with no plan other than walking around to check out what’s going on. The great thing about having so many bars and restaurants downtown is the ability to move around if you’re not feeling the vibe in one place. There are plenty of options just outside the door. Photo: Lucky Wenzel

  • Brandon Wiegand

    The downtown Las Vegas of today has much to attract residents - a burgeoning restaurant and nightlife scene, growing diversity of businesses, and major centers of art and culture. Plus, living downtown I am easily within walking or biking distance of it all. Photo: Lucky Wenzel

  • Hank Gordon, Chairman of Laurich Properties

    It is always a pleasure to deal with the city of Las Vegas’ economic development department. The staff is really interested in helping create a positive business environment to work with.

  • Jonathan Jenkins, Founder & CEO of OrderWithMe

    As our company continues its rapid growth, we quickly realized the need to set up a formal U.S. headquarters. We explored multiple cities and were about to make the move to San Francisco, and then we heard about the complete reinvention of downtown Las Vegas. Coming from China where things are booming and growing, we love that downtown Vegas now has a similar vibe of energy and change. Not only is there an exciting tech community here and much lower costs than the Bay Area, but we love the fact that almost every industry group brings their conventions to our front door once a year.

  • Andy Hsieh, Owner of Lux Delux

    We love the vibrancy and energy of Las Vegas, and downtown is at the heart of it all. That's why we've launched our mobile platform with a focus on downtown. This is an exciting time in Las Vegas history, where community, commerce and technology are all converging at once. Downtown is our city's hidden gem.

  • Ramesh Srinivasan, Chief Marketing Officer & Head of Partnerships of SocialWellth

    We chose to relocate from the suburbs to downtown for several reasons. Our brand image and that of downtown’s mesh perfectly. The new downtown Las Vegas reflects a more hip, startup, social media-style image. Additionally, downtown’s emerging technology corridor, anchored by Zappos, is an environment that enhances our ability to recruit the types of technical skill sets required for our continued growth and success.

  • Mark Brandenburg, President of Golden Gate

    I think downtown Las Vegas is a unique blend of intimacy and great energy. Plus, in contrast to The Strip, it’s so easy to walk around…The Golden Gate has been here for over 100 years and with all the changes going on downtown, it feels like a new era. It truly is a renaissance—the rebirth of a classic.

  • Roberto Mendoza, Co-owner of Banger Brewing

    The city has been great in helping us with the licensing and procedures necessary to start a business. There hasn't been a brewery built in the city of Las Vegas for probably 10 years. So for them it hasn't been a typical ‘cut and paste’ thing. We're something different. It was a team work process to get us opened – a lot of talk and listening on both sides. And now the city started opening up the doors for other breweries once we were up and running. Good news for us and good news for the future. (Photo: Lucky Wenzel)

  • Alexandra Epstein, Executive Vice President of El Cortez Casino Hotel

    This downtown area… is emerging and where many events are happening.

  • Meghan Mossler, Owner of Stitch Factory

    The city and the department of economic development have been very helpful to us and all the other downtown business owners. It’s such a community here, and everyone asks you what you need. That kind of help launching a business is amazing and priceless.

  • Pamela Dylag, Co-owner of Velveteen Rabbit

    The city is so supportive of new businesses. Things are popping up constantly. (Photo: Lucky Wenzel)

  • Marc Abelman, CFO & Co-owner of Inside Style

    Downtown is becoming very much in demand…there’s a limited supply. Run fast, don’t walk.

  • Sam Cherry, CEO of Cherry Development

    For a while, downtown was one of the only places in the valley you would see cranes when you drove around. It was nice that city government stepped up and the private sector married with the public sector to create amazing projects that filled the gap. That was very important for us.

  • Johnny Jimenez, Owner of Toy Shack of Las Vegas

    Our business is booming amid the foot traffic on Fremont Street, and we’ve started to see how tourists are falling in love with downtown as they discover it. In the past year, we’re increasingly hearing things like, ‘Wow, next time we’ll stay downtown instead of on The Strip,’ or ‘We’ve visited downtown many times, but this is the first year we’ve actually stayed in a downtown hotel.’ They like that there is more to do within a smaller walking radius.

  • Rich Worthington, President and CEO of The Molasky Group of Companies

    Historically, downtown Las Vegas has not been a top destination for many locals, but in recent years… that trend is reversing itself. Given all the recent openings and progress, there’s much to explore and experience downtown.