Should a former bank building in downtown Las Vegas be saved?

A Las Vegas-based developer is trying to save an old downtown bank building from demolition.

Dapper Companies is asking the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, the owner of the former Frontier Fidelity Savings and Loan Building at 801 E. Charleston Blvd., to preserve the 62-year-old structure rather than demolish it.

“We wanted to make sure that another old building wasn’t demolished without notice, since that’s happened before,” said J Dapper, founder of Dapper Companies.

The Legal Aid Center said saving the building, which it bought in 2020, isn’t feasible as there are issues with the building’s foundation, a lack of fire safety systems and it’s inaccessibility to people with disabilities.

“Renovation of the structure for any use really, by any owner would require such significant modification that much of the current structure would be altered or changed during the process,” said Terry Bratton, chief financial officer of the Legal Aid Center. “We just don’t think that’s going to be either economically feasible or really prudent with the size of building that we need.”

The legal nonprofit plans to demolish the old bank to make way for a $30 million building that will expand its downtown campus.

Despite issuing a news release about the project last month, Dapper said he hasn’t been in direct communication with the Legal Aid Center. He said the intent of the release was to create more community awareness about the building.

Dapper Companies has experience with saving other historic buildings in Las Vegas — such as the redevelopment of the Huntridge Theater.

According to the release, architects Robert Hagman and Kurt Meyer of Hagman & Meyer designed the midcentury modern building. At the time of its opening, it was considered contemporary.

Harley A. Harmon was president of Frontier Fidelity when the building was commissioned and opened in 1962. He was one of the original founding members of the “Responsible Members of Las Vegas Pioneer Families” that founded the bank.

Bank of America purchased the building in 1990 and operated there until it was sold to Legal Aid in 2020.

Bratton said the Legal Aid Center needs to expand because its client list has quadrupled over the last 10 years and the center now serves about 189,000 people a year. The Legal Aid Center plans to construct a new building to house the Resiliency and Justice Center, which will serve Southern Nevada violent crime victims.

The 40,000-square-foot building will cost roughly $30 million to construct and could open in 2026, Bratton said. The Legal Aid Center plans to fund the construction through donations and grants and looks to avoid taking out any loans or financing arrangements.

Planning for the new building is in its early stages, he said.

Dapper said he isn’t trying to stop the expansion of the nonprofit but would like to get more community input for the project.

“Anything is possible, it just takes effort,” he said. “But they have the right to do what they want with the property.”

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.