An exterior view of the Historic Huntridge Theater, downtown, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. WADE VANDERVORT
Wednesday, May 26, 2021 | 4:33 p.m.
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The iconic Huntridge Theater is one step closer to being recognized as a historic site by the City of Las Vegas following a unanimous vote Wednesday at the Historic Preservation Commission.
The approved application moves to the Las Vegas Planning & Zoning Commission, and then to the City Council for a final vote, a process that could take a few more months.
“I think we will likely be successful getting it on” the Las Vegas registry, said John Curran, senior vice president development for Dapper Companies, which closed on the purchase of the venue earlier this year for $4 million, with intention to spend “a lot more.”
The shuttered performing arts center on the southeast corner of Maryland Parkway and Charleston Boulevard is already in the federal and state historic registries, so with the move Wednesday, “it only makes sense that it’s included in the local registry,” Curran said.
Being on the registry would allow the theater to qualify for tax dollars available to preserve a historic site, Las Vegas City Senior Planner Michael Howe said. Once in the local registry, modifications would need to be approved by the commission “to make sure the integrity of the property is maintained.”
Questioned by Preservation Commissioner Mia Palencar about a time frame on when renovation and construction would begin at the site, Curran said the development company can’t commit to a timeline, but that it would be a lengthy process.
“Realistically, just to manage expectations, I’m not sure I envision real active construction on the site for maybe two years,” Curran said. He added that they will likely pursue a historic tax credit and other entitlements.
“No one’s more eager than we are to begin that process, but unfortunately, with this project, it’s going to take some time,” he said.
As the site sits empty, it’s often a landing spot for some of the valley’s homeless population.
“It does not look good in the parking lots, and the people who are hanging out there, for two more years of that, I don’t think that’s really a way to go,” Palencar said.
Curran noted that a security company was hired to patrol the property, and said the company considered fencing it in, but that it would be “unsightly.”
“We just inherited a lot ... of junk in there that we’re cleaning up, and it’s already looking a lot better than what it was when we closed,” Curran told the commission.
He said graffiti that goes up is swiftly coated over, and that the perimeter is cleaned regularly.
Per an agreement, the commission will receive quarterly reports on the state of the theater.
The loss of performing arts during the pandemic “perhaps added a little bit of trepidation, but we’re certainly bullish on the future of downtown, we never really lost a sight of that,” Curran said. “We’re moving forward anyway.”
The Huntridge Theatre, built in 1944, opened when the population in Clark County was only 25,000 residents, Curran said, noting that buildings from that era are a rarity.
“It’s great to ... preserve and help write the next chapters of its history,” he said.
