Charleston Heights developer Becker dies

Tuesday, June 22, 1999 | 11:28 a.m.

Ernie Becker made things grow.

Whether it was developing entire streets, neighborhoods or commercial centers from large, dusty desert parcels or tending to the array of colorful flowers in his garden, it seemed that whatever Becker touched bore fruit.

"He loved gardening, and would bring us flowers from his garden, which showed his gentle, loving side," said longtime friend Irene Porter, executive director of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association.

"Ernie loved tending to his plants and making them bloom. The same can be said for his career as a developer. Starting in the 1950s he tended to areas of the city and made them bloom with homes."

Earnest "Ernie" A. Becker, patriarch of a Las Vegas development family that has built more than 35,000 homes and developed commercial corridors along Decatur and Rainbow boulevards, has died. He was 80.

Becker, who built Arizona Charlie's, the Charleston Heights subdivision, shopping centers and parks and gave away acres of prime land to charities, died Friday. He had suffered a serious fall last year and never fully recovered.

There will be no services for Becker, the son and grandson of California real estate speculators and developers who moved to Las Vegas 47 years ago to begin a five-decade-long career in that field, which included a term as president of the National Home Builders Association.

"He didn't just build shopping centers and homes -- he was a builder of cities," Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones said today of her friend of 18 years. "It's so easy to say that someone is a visionary, but he knew where the city was going to grow before anyone else."

Jones called Becker a gentleman and a reserved man who was "extremely gracious, funny and kind." And, she said, he built projects that have endured.

"Charleston Heights was built so long ago, yet it is still thought of as one of the great neighborhoods -- and one of the most well-organized neighborhoods -- in the city," Jones said.

Porter said Becker "was a pioneer in the home building industry and with the university (UNLV). He made major contributions to this community."

Porter said that while Becker was not a founder of the home builders association he soon after became "a mover and a shaker" in the organization and played a major role in its growth.

Born April 6, 1919, in Los Angeles, Becker graduated from the University of Southern California in 1940. He played football at USC and remained a longtime Trojan football supporter as well as a fan of UNLV football and basketball.

Becker served in the Coast Guard during World War II. He settled in Las Vegas in 1952 and built his first subdivision on Alta Drive just west of Decatur Boulevard.

In the early 1980s, Becker and his family -- his four sons are all developers -- turned the old Charleston Heights Bowl, which he had built, and the accompanying Victoria's night club into Arizona Charlie's, one of the valley's first major neighborhood casinos.

He later developed Rainbow Boulevard into a key northwest Las Vegas thoroughfare.

In 1975, Becker was elected vice president of the National Association of Home Builders. In 1978, he was elected president of the organization.

It is estimated that Becker and his family built more than 35,000 houses and apartments in Clark County. The family's housing developments include Stratford and Mayflower estates. Apartment complexes the Beckers built include Candlewood and Ashford parks.

In recent years, it was Becker's generosity that made headlines as often or more frequently than his business ventures.

In February 1994, he donated a $1 million North Las Vegas land parcel to the National Association of Home Builders' philanthropy -- its largest gift ever.

The land, located at Gowan Road and Scott Robinson Boulevard in the Hidden Canyon subdivision, was to be sold and the funds were to be used for housing development research into the construction of more affordable and safer homes.

Other recipients of Becker-owned land over the years included the Boy Scouts of America, UNLV and USC.

In 1997, Becker built the Ronald McDonald House on Potosi Street near Sahara Avenue and Decatur Boulevard. Its purpose is to house families of seriously ill children during their stay at Las Vegas medical facilities.

Becker is survived by his wife, Betty Becker; sons Barry Becker, Ernest Becker, Randall Becker and Bruce Becker; nine grandchildren; and five great grandchildren, all of Las Vegas.

Donations can be made in Becker's memory to the Ronald McDonald House, 2323 Potosi Street, Las Vegas, NV 89102 or New Horizons Foundation, 50 S. Jones Blvd., Suite 101, Las Vegas, NV 89107.