Fire burns Las Vegas Historic Westside building, site of proposed casino development
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - A fire on Sunday night burned through decades of history and memories for the Las Vegas Historic Westside at an abandoned building on Jackson Avenue and F Street that used to be the New Town Tavern turned Tokyo Casino.
“It’s a very historical site. It was the first black-owned casino,” said developer Shlomo Meiri. “It used to be a spot for the celebrities and famous at that time, and I hope to bring it back to what it used to be that will benefit everybody.”
It’s the same site where Meiri plans to build a large casino, hotel, and apartment property initially proposed to be 60 stories high.
It’s since been reduced to 34 stories to comply with a request from the F.A.A., with plans for 222 hotel rooms and almost 500 apartments and condos, as well as a casino, theater, and restaurants.
“It’s a depressed area, only vacant properties or vacant land, and somebody needs to do something about it, so we are here and want to do good for the community,” said Meiri.
The new building application is set to be discussed by the City Planning Commission in November.
Meiri said the project will bring more than a thousand jobs to the area, and he plans to hire people specifically from the Historic Westside community.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas fire officials said the existing building on the property will likely be a complete loss.
“It’s more complicated because now there’s no building to refinance, but it shouldn’t change the timing,” said Meiri, “as long as the city will work together with me to bring the community together and do something.”
The developer hopes the building will be approved and completed within five years.
In the meantime, he says there’s a neighborhood meeting planned for next Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Las Vegas Library to get more input from the community.
