Breaking down is hard to do

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | 8:18 a.m.

Nearly two years after fire ripped through a three-story building at the Casa Palms apartments on Las Vegas Boulevard North, the blackened and boarded-up building is headed toward demolition.

The building, one of four in the apartment complex just north of Bonanza Road, has remained as one of Las Vegas' more visible eyesores - a function of its presence on a heavily traveled street - for so long because of a legal battle over ownership.

Casa Palms was in the process of being sold when the April 2004 fire left one of its buildings unlivable, and now both the buyer and seller from that deal are trying to get the property.

While the ownership issue is to be decided at an upcoming trial, District Judge Michelle Leavitt has ordered some of the insurance money released to pay for the demolition.

Lane Swainston, appointed by Leavitt as receiver for the Casa Palms, said the fire-damaged building will be demolished within several weeks. A new building - the exact nature of which is uncertain - could be built on the site in as little as five months.

"The first thing we want to do is get that eyesore down," Swainston said. "It's not fair to the people that have to live there, or have to drive by there, or to the city."

Casa Palms' owners had agreed to sell the 200-unit apartment complex for $4.2 million. The deal was nearly completed when on April 9, 2004, a fire sparked by a worker welding pipes damaged the 60-apartment building that faces Las Vegas Boulevard.

Within a week, Casa Palms sued to stop the sale, arguing that the buyer was unable to secure financing.

The potential buyer, LVBN200, contended that concessions had been agreed to that would allow the sale to proceed despite financing problems with a specific lender.

Both sides want the property and agree that the building should be demolished. But with the ownership in question, neither side was willing to risk paying to demolish a building it might not end up owning.

The city ordered the building secured and cleaned up, and the windows and open hallways were boarded. But with the matter in court, city officials felt their hands were tied.

Now, however, it appears the building will finally come down - and soon.

"I'm happy to see it go," said Las Vegas Councilman Lawrence Weekly. "Our staff consistently stayed on top of the issue, and that's why it didn't get out of control."

Casa Palms resident Barbara Henderson, 63, said a fence and on-site security helped prevent the vacant building from becoming a haven for vagrants.

"I am disappointed in the length of time it has taken," she said. "It's an eyesore, but there haven't really been any problems other than that."