I like the District. They have decent eateries; Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ, King's Fish House, Rachel's Kitchen, Elephant Bar, Al's Garage, Settebello Pizzeria, The Coffee Bean, PF Chang's, Balboa Pizza, Ben & Jerry's, Panera, The Cheesecake Factory and they also have a Whole Foods. These are all pretty good restaurants with a wide range of cuisines to choose from.
The retail stores are another story. My wife loves Williams Sonoma, West Elm The Loft, Hallmark Cards, Anthropologies, and a couple boutique stores. I like REI and that's about it. We take our kids to MyGym which is great for them especially when its a balmy 100+ degrees in the summer. They do need to work on getting quality retail stores in this area.
The District offers so much for the GVR/Henderson community. They hold mini concerts at their stage on the weekends (Music on Main street), have car shows, Art walks, they have Outdoor Picture show-movie night on Fri & Sat., Its a dog friendly area, in the summer they have misters and the winter heat lamps.
They should think about a sneaker boutique, maybe a Urban Outfitter, and other dessert shops. It would definitely improve their reputation.