No more taxpayer funds for Huntridge

Enough already. The time has come to stop pouring public dollars into reviving the Huntridge Theater. If some history buff wants to spend private dollars to restore the theater, hooray. But no more public money, please.

There's no doubt the Huntridge is worth saving, but the reality is, the restoration costs are too great. Until legal complications are resolved, it's a waste of time and money to even try.

Nearly $2 million in state and city dollars already have been spent to save the Huntridge, built in 1944 and the first integrated movie theater in Las Vegas.

It has architectural significance as well as historical. The white paint on the "streamline moderne" style-building and the 75-foot tower makes its stand out at the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Maryland Parkway. And no one can place a value on the fond memories mature Las Vegans have of working there or going there for movies and later for concerts.

Yet the last two optimists eager to "save the Huntridge" have called it quits for now. In an August email to City of Las Vegas officials, would-be savior Michael Cornthwaite wrote that he and Joey Vanas, "Regretfully ... have not made enough progress to get us to the finish line on this. There is no way we are going to take the Centennial funds any time soon."

In May 2014, the city approved giving them a $1 million grant to partially pay for one-third of an acre, the land the actual theater rests upon. But they haven't been able to negotiate the sale of that land with the Mizrachi family, the current owners, so they don't think they can accept the grant by the July 2017 deadline.

Meanwhile, two state agencies which provided about $1.5 million to "save the Huntridge" after the roof collapsed are suing Eli Mizrachi. They're asking for the state's money back because he failed to abide by the covenants put on the sale. That case is scheduled to go to trial in May.

KNPR's Joe Schoenmann first broke the news that Cornthwaite and Vanas, operating as Huntridge Revival LLC, admitted they can't get the job done. This contrasts with their bubbling optimism in May 2014 when they said if granted the $1 million seed money by city officials, they could obtain private funding for another $3 million to buy the rest of the land and raise private money for the $8 million or more to restore the theater.

Even then, when the Las Vegas Centennial Commission agreed to provide $1 million to "save the Huntridge," there were commission members who had the same thoughts I did. That is, why would any effort to save the Huntridge work now when so many other salvation efforts failed?

Commission member Bob Stoldal was blunt last year: "Why is it going to work this time?" Since 1990 he had seen multiple efforts to save the historic movie theater.

At least $1.8 million of state and city money has been poured into it in the past 25 years. That doesn't count the $1 million that was committed but not paid out yet.

Cornthwaite, owner of the Beat Coffeehouse and Downtown Cocktail Room, and Vanas, operator of First Fridays, were persuasive in 2014. Their plan: Create a performing arts venue to show art-house movies, off-Broadway shows, high school productions, concerts and live music.

Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Coffin, who lives in and represents the area, was the strongest advocate of giving Cornthwaite and Vanas the grant.

The two history-loving Bobs gave opposite answers to my question Wednesday: Is it time to stop putting public money into the Huntridge?

Stoldal said, "I hate absolutes, but before we spend any more public money, there are major hurdles to overcome." He is particularly concerned about the lawsuit seeking the return of the state's $1.5 million from Mizrachi, money provided by the Nevada Commission on Cultural Affairs and the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The state believes Mizrachi bought the land cheap and failed to live up to the covenants.

Bob Coffin is far more optimistic than Bob Stoldal. "I'm still holding hope," the councilman said. He explained that Cornthwaite and Vanas couldn't get the private money together. "They had an investor willing to help but the seller (Mizrachi) wanted too much and wanted to be in the first position" if there was a default. He hoped that Cornthwaite's withdrawal might be a negotiating ploy.

Coffin and I went round and round over whether the $1 million seed money is public money, because it is part of the $1.6 million raised each year from renewal fees for Las Vegas Centennial license plates. Coffin insisted it's a fee paid willingly by those who support historic preservation in Las Vegas.

If you bought one of the special plates, do you want that money to go to save the Huntridge, or do you believe it has become a beloved rathole and it's time to preserve other historic properties that can be sustainable?

Let me know at my contact information below.

Jane Ann Morrison's column runs Thursdays. Leave messages for her at 702-383-0275 or email jmorrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow her: @janeannmorrison