Thursday, July 28, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Projects Around the Valley
The planned renovation of the historic Huntridge Theater could be finished by late 2024, the developer behind the project said.
J Dapper, who owns the 78-year-old downtown Las Vegas theater and other properties in its vicinity, laid out the timeline Wednesday during a Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission meeting at City Hall.
Dapper also said officials with the New York City-based SoHo Playhouse last week signed a lease to operate future productions at the theater.
The parties worked on the details of the lease for about eight months, Dapper said.
SoHo Playhouse Artistic Director Darren Lee Cole took a particular interest in the Huntridge, partly because he has a home in Las Vegas, Dapper said.
“With the lease in place, we can now start in earnest on the rest of the project and moving the project forward,” Dapper told the commission.
Dapper’s development firm, Dapper Companies, closed on a $4 million purchase of the theater in 2021.
The shuttered performing arts center near the corner of Maryland Parkway and Charleston Boulevard is recognized on federal and state historic registries, as well as the city’s Historic Property Register.
The revamped Huntridge will feature a theater with a capacity of about 1,150 people for concerts and about 450 for more intimate theater productions.
Dapper said he planned to build another building with two smaller theaters just south of the Huntridge, with all three theaters sharing a common lobby.
Dapper said he also planned to turn a couple of empty buildings near the Huntridge into spaces for restaurants and bars.
“When we bought the theater, it was in pretty bad shape,” Dapper said. “The electrical systems weren’t working, and we spent a lot of time cleaning and patching holes. Since we took over, we’ve given probably several hundred tours. A lot of people who live in the shadows of the theater want to know about what’s going on with it.”
Dapper said he was still trying to find a firm to do the design work for the renovation and hoped to start construction in September 2023.
Because of its historic designation, the theater qualifies for certain tax dollars that could go toward the renovation project. How much the project might qualify for has not been determined.
“I want to make sure I access anything available to me or to my tenant, SoHo Playhouse,” Dapper said. “They’re taking a big chance coming all the way here from New York.”
Commission Chairman Robert Stoldal said it was “important that the building has been stabilized and that it hasn’t fallen further into disrepair. It’s nice to see a fair estimate on when we could see this project move forward.”
Built in 1944, the theater opened when the population in Clark County was only about 25,000.
