Shopping center tenants frustrated with uncertainty

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

A decade ago, more than 60 merchants thrived at Maryland Square, a shopping center just across the street from the Boulevard Mall in the geographic center of Las Vegas.

Today, about 20 stores remain and the business people who run them say they have no idea whether the center has a date with the wrecking ball and if they should be looking for a new location.

"We've heard that a sale to the (Clark County) School District is pending, but we haven't seen any official announcements," said Rusty Goe, owner of the Las Vegas Rare Coin Gallery.

"We've had to do a lot of extra advertising," added Nancy Walker, manager of the Quilted Bear, an arts and crafts store that is now the largest existing tenant of Maryland Square. "Everybody thought the center had closed down and that the store was gone."

Walker said the Quilted Bear still has four years remaining on a lease agreement with the owners of the center, the Herman Kishner Trust.

Others lease month to month and are awaiting official notification of what they've heard -- that the school district will acquire the 13.7-acre parcel and turn it into an elementary school to relieve crowding at Ruby Thomas and Robert E. Lake elementary schools.

School district officials say the new elementary school would provide space for 720 students if it is on a nine-month calendar or 940 students if it were to implement a year-around calendar with five tracks. Under a five-track calendar, 20 percent of the students are out of school at a time.

But the center's commercial property managers, CB Richard Ellis, say there are no completed contracts or escrow instructions on the property.

"For us, it's a going concern," said Christina Rousch, a CB Richard Ellis vice president. "We've had it on the market for sale and we received multiple offers for the property. Then, the school district came forward."

There's a sign on the property advertising space for lease, directing callers to the CB Richard Ellis office.

Irwin Kishner, a Kishner trustee handling the shopping center, hasn't told the merchants of his plans or whether they'll be evicted anytime soon. The Maryland Square merchants say that's the most frustrating part of the equation -- not being in the communications loop.

They say Kishner won't let them know what's going on. He also could not be reached for comment on this story.

"The only way we know anything at all is going through the school district," Goe said. "One time, we heard the schools had asked for an extension but he (Kishner) denied it and they had to forfeit their deposit.

"One time, we were told the school district was going to take over this month," he said. "Then, we were told it was going to be in November of this year. Then, the latest we heard was that the schools would take over in April, so now I don't know."

Matt LaCroix, assistant director of demographics, zoning and realty for the Clark County School District, said the school board has approved the acquisition of the Maryland Square acreage if it can come to an agreement with the Kishner trust.

LaCroix said the district and the trust are continuing negotiations, but he said he could not disclose the sticking points on the talks.

"I can't go into the details, but I can say negotiations are ongoing," LaCroix said.

He said it would be inappropriate for the district to talk directly to the Maryland Square merchants.

Goe said all the merchants want is a timetable.

"At some of the other high-profile developments, like the Fremont Street Experience, they at least told the businesses what they were planning to do and when they had to move," he said. "That's all we want."

Ironically, Goe said he knows more about what is planned across the street to the south of Maryland Square than he knows about is own property.

The Park Place Shopping Center, a 100,000-square-foot retail area at the southwest corner of Maryland Parkway and Twain Avenue, will undergo a $16 million face-lift this year.

Laurich Properties Inc. and the Molasky Cos. have begun the redevelopment project, which will be completed in November.

Hank Gordon, president of Laurich Properties, said a 60,000-square-foot building that formerly housed a Mervyn's department store will be taken over by the Vons grocery store chain, which operates a 28-year-old 32,000-square-foot store on the west end of the property. Vons also will be installing a prototype fuel center on the corner of the property.

At the old Vons site, a new county park will be built. The revitalization effort also will include a refurbished parking lot and improved parking lot lighting.