Thursday, February 27, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Cover story: Strip maul

A battle over urban renewal brews in Commercial Center

By Andrew Kiraly

Businessman Karl Vetter keeps one of the oddest scrapbooks you'll ever see. The three-ring binder brims with the usual photos and newspaper clippings secured in plastic sleeves, but their subject sets them apart. They all have to do with his ongoing campaign to clean up his little corner of Commercial Center.

"See?" he says, pointing at one of many snapshots of some drunks huddled against one of the strip mall's walls. "They wait back here, while this guy in the wheelchair hustles for change, and then he brings it back and they spend it on booze. And look"--here he points to a snapshot of the wheelchair guy miraculously standing, in handcuffs--"the guy in the wheelchair can suddenly walk. It's a miracle."

Vetter, who owns the hobby shop Kool Kollectables, as well as the parcel rented by Cool Discount Furniture next door, guides a guest through page after plastic-coated page on a recent afternoon to show off Commercial Center's Before and its After. Some snapshots are of graffiti-laced walls, others of shit-stained alleys, others of area hustlers and low-lifes who call Commercial Center home--or used to. As Vetter tells it, the 40-year-old strip mall on Sahara Avenue near Maryland Parkway is a lot cleaner nowadays, thanks to increased cop presence and the efforts of conscientious business owners like himself who are trying to turn the place around.

"The police have done a remarkable job in sweeping out the elements that cause problems," Vetter says. "We haven't had a major incident in months." Vetter himself, whose popular hobby store has operated in Commercial Center for more than two years, has rounded up a coalition of landlords and shop owners who care about the future of the place. They don't have any starry-eyed plans to somehow usher Commercial Center into some sort of renaissance; rather, they focus on practical, concrete solutions to everyday issues in the center.

In fact, one of those issues is concrete itself--that is, the cracked, uneven sidewalk that lines the shopping center. And the crumbling parking lots. And the medians choked with gravel. Indeed, the issue of Commercial Center's unsightly (if serviceable) parking and pedestrian amenities has opened a can of troubles that's far trickier to deal with than hustling winos or taggers' spray-painted calling cards. This speed bump involves the county's plans to refurbish the strip mall's ungracefully aging parking lot and tweak the sidewalks so they're compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Pretty nice of the county, right? Sort of. The clincher is that even though Clark County owns the Commercial Center parking lot--an unusual enough case in itself--the arrangement of this Special Improvement District is such that the county wants the various property owners to foot at least half the bill--and if the county gets its way, the parcel owners will foot all of it. The nearly million-dollar question has many of the business owners and landlords of Commercial Center--a historic Vegas shopping center that doesn't seem to get much historic or cultural credit--folding their arms and balking. The question might be put to rest at a County Commission meeting this Tuesday, when commissioners, shop owners and property owners hammer out who's picking up the tab.

"The reason I bought my parcel in the first place was because I knew the county owned the parking lot," says Pola Zimmerman, landlord for Star Costume. "But now they want us to pay to fix the parking lot? If they can't afford to keep up the parking lot, let them give it to the property owners."

Says the county's comprehensive planning director, John Schlegel: "It's not totally out of the realm of possibility, but I wouldn't put it in the realm of probability."

Stone Age strip mall

The situation Commercial Center finds itself in is pretty improbable as well. The 40-year-old strip mall's hazy beginnings are mired in stories of sweetheart deals. But amid the morass of rumor and half-truths, there's one fact: Around 1962, the Commercial Center parking lot was deeded to Clark County; as various officials tell it, the thinking was that the county would play the part of your typical latter-day strip mall's public area association. In most instances, property and business owners pool their money--or are assessed--for a common fund to pay for upkeep of everything from parking curbs to watering the trees in the medians.

Problem is, it didn't work out that way. The county has never touched the asphalt. And the "public infrastructure" of Commercial Center hasn't aged too well. Some of it can be chalked up to wear and tear: the oil streaks on the asphalt, the cracks in the sidewalk. But some business owners wonder whether the place would be in better shape if the county had done a little upkeep over the years (one property owner even sued the county in 1999 to compel public officials to live up to their responsibilities as owners of the vast tract of eroding asphalt).

Could be. Despite this and a host of other issues--including a much-publicized crime problem that tenants say has only recently begun to clear up--Commercial Center has managed to become a curious cultural landmark in a city where every corner seems dominated by a shiny new stucco-armored strip mall dominated by a host of the usual big-box stores. If there was a strip mall or shopping center that could boast the virtue of having soul, Commercial Center would be it, with its motley assortment of bars, restaurants, weird sex clubs and other quirky amenities. The crumbling shopping center with more than 150 stores lays claim to one of the city's best Thai restaurants (Komol), the oldest non-Strip arcade (Mary K's, operating for more than 25 years), one of the more established pool halls (Cue Club), a freestanding liquor store (Town Pump), a cool Indian variety store (India Spice), as well as a host of Asian grocery stores, swingers clubs (The Red Rooster, The Fantasy Social Club, The Green Door). It's also where a budding satellite gay community has taken root, second only to the university district's Fruit Loop. Commercial Center has three gay bars (The Spotlight Lounge, Badlands and the Las Vegas Lounge), as well as the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada.

"We chose this spot because it was centrally located, and it's one of two areas in town that has some gay community culture," says Bob Bellis, executive director of the Center. "And it's not that expensive. But if it's such an important area to the county, instead of taxing people here who are already having a hard time, they should just pay for [the parking lot] and try to get some real redevelopment going here."

Who's picking up the tab?

It might get more pricey for parcel holders and shop owners. The Special Improvement District proposed by the county would assess Commercial Center's 35 or so parcel owners with $836,795.06, which would go toward sidewalk and parking lot upgrades. The money is divided among the property owners relative to the amount of their parcels' square footage; meanwhile, the money issue itself is proving to be a dividing force, making for a rift between the county, property owners--and other property owners. During the day, the patchwork of small shops in one of Las Vegas' oldest commercial properties may seem sedate, but they're actually abuzz with discussion and dissent. Some want an end to what they consider government meddling--hand the parking lot over to the property owners, they say--while others are cheerfully willing (or, more commonly, resigning) to foot the bill. Still others want more county involvement, proposing that the county take the full plunge into truly redeveloping the aging center. The perspectives on Commercial Center's curious position are as diverse as the shops themselves.

"Most of the property owners in here aren't getting much rent because the place is so rundown to begin with," says Karen Nevius, who under the current proposal says she's looking at paying an extra $1,500 a year, plus interest--since she can't afford the alternative, a cash payment period over a month's time. She says she can't raise the rent on her tenant, Rollers Beauty School, since the shop's locked into a 12-year lease. And even if she could, she's not sure she would. "Are our tenants going to be willing to pay anything extra? I don't think so. So it's put back on the owners, and it's going to create a financial hardship. I was hoping the county would actually do some redevelopment like [the city's redevelopment of the Westland Fair strip mall on] Decatur and Charleston. As long as our buildings are all different shapes and colors, tenants aren't going to see increased business. Resurfacing the parking lot won't help at all. If you want to go somewhere, you don't care if they've just resurfaced the parking lot or not."

Pola Zimmerman, who owns 9,000 square feet in the northeast corner, agrees. The lease of one of her tenants, Star Costume, expires in April, and she says the owners are going to go month-to-month after that--a troubling sign. Her other tenant, the Fantasy Social Club, comes to the end of its lease in September, and she's not banking on a renewal.

"How can I raise the rent if I don't even know if they can continue paying what they're paying now? To find a new tenant is not so easy," says Zimmerman, who says the rent provides retirement income for her and her husband. "I don't understand why they're asking us to pay. We are paying county taxes to pave the streets, aren't we? They should do it for the parking lot, too."

Says Brady Exber, who manages parcels jointly owned by Mel Exber and Jackie Gaughan: "It's the same as if the county paved the front of your house and then says, 'Hey, send us a check for $20,000." Or, in his case, $35,000. "It seems to me that the county turned its back on Commercial Center for years, and now it wants a quick fix that's not real well thought out. For some property owners, it won't be the end of the world, but for some it will."

Commissioner Myrna Williams, whose district includes Commercial Center, did not return phone calls.

But why should the public pay for improvements to an odd, aging strip mall, improvements that would, in the end, benefit only the business owners and landlords? That's exactly the question that county officials raise. They point out that the many shop owners and property holders have merely been operating with a unique advantage all these years--not having to pay for the upkeep of a parking lot. Asking them to pay for the upgrade is simply leveling the playing field. But if the county paid, it would be tantamount to "taxpayers subsidizing a commercial operation," says Marty Manning, the county's public works director. "They don't have the same expenses as other commercial shopping centers have. Even though there's been deterioration over the years, they still come out ahead. It's a bargain the lessees have been taking advantage of for years." And, he adds, the $800K number is a much-discussed, whittled-down figure after months of public meetings that, he notes, a large portion of Commercial Center property and biz owners didn't attend.

"When we first started talking about this special improvement district, we were talking a couple million dollars to get some top-notch upgrades, even making traffic adjustments to eliminate things like traffic that uses the center to zip from Karen to Sahara. A third option, generally called a commercial revitalization project, allows them to get into the business of replacing signage, repainting, even going so far as to have entertainment events. They basically balked at everything."

Some say it's not balking. Kool Kollectables owner Vetter says he and his coalition merely want to negotiate something reasonable with the county. And he doesn't necessarily think that being compelled to pay for a prettified parking lot is the best thing for business in Commercial Center.

"I think the biggest question on our minds is how will this bring in more customers? If we incur extra costs [paying for improvements] but business stays the same, the rents will get raised. Then you have businesses moving out." It's the exact opposite of the scenario the county wants to see unfold.

"Spending a few million dollars to patch a few holes in the parking lot doesn't mean someone is now going to be willing to drive their Mercedes through the property," he says.

'There's nothing free in life'

Not all the tenants and property owners are naysayers. Some have resigned themselves to ponying up some refurbishing money, and others are eager to. Take property owner Joseph Abdenour. The owner of the entire northeast section even sued the county in 1999 to compel it to upgrade the parking lot. The case is still pending, but now Abdenour might get his wish--catch is, this time he'd have to pay for it. These days, he doesn't seem to mind.

"The way I feel about it, there's nothing free in life," says Abdenour, landlord to about two dozen businesses. "And the shopping center needs it badly. Just walk down the sidewalk. It's filled with hazards, it's just not right." Abdenour says he's currently spending about $28,000 to repaint his corner of Commercial Center. Even his tenants don't seem to mind, pointing to a strange east-west split in the center. Steve Serge, owner of Serge's Showgirl Wigs, says he's willing to live with a bump-up in the rent if things were spruced up.

"Any sort of redevelopment would be welcome," says Serge, who's done business in the shopping center for 10 years. "Anything that makes the place sellable, anything that makes people feel welcome and safe, is worth it." But he doesn't forget to bring up one of the main reasons he's in Commercial Center: It's comparatively cheap. The monthly rent in his 7,500-square-foot wig store--adorned with autographed celeb pics and more wigs than a drag show--is a buck a square foot, a price he could only dream of getting in Vegas' booming west side. But Serge is in a unique position. He's soaked into the cityscape long enough that he's a destination shop--that is, nobody pops into the wig store on a whim to browse and buy.

"I've established an identity so that I'm pretty self-supportive. I'm the largest wig store in the country, probably in the world."

There are others who don't mind opening up their wallets, either. Scott Leonhardt, administrator for the Harvest Rock Church in the center's southwest corner, says many of the business owners who can well afford it are just crying poor.

"The way it works out [on the 10-year biannual payment plan], it's about the same as our current sewer bill," Leonhardt says. "It's like they don't do these sort of assessments in other parts of the county. These SIDs are in place in order to allow the county to do upgrades that normally aren't budgeted. I understand where the property owners are coming from, and that this parking lot is this white elephant that's been passed down from commission to commission and that nobody has ever really known what to do with it. But the bigger your building, the bigger the assessment, so if I was a smaller business, I'd just keep quiet and pay my little assessment."

They might not have a choice. While the property owners can vote the county's proposal down--as they have at past meetings--the county can ultimately make them pay. According to Manning, state law says if the county puts up half the money plus a dollar, the county overrides the protesting vote and can bill the owners for the other half.

"Commercial Center is really one of the more interesting anomalies I've run into," Manning says. "I've never seen a shopping center in a situation like this."

It's perhaps the only thing everyone agrees on.

Back at Kool Kollectables, Vetter draws a metaphor from the surrounding racks filled with comic books.

"The thing that's amazing about comic books is that they're a universal language," Vetter says. "I've had people in here from all over the world, Israel, Japan, Australia, and everyone knows Superman, everyone knows The Hulk. I wish we could somehow bring a common language to the table to work this all out."