State to help owner find new use for old Huntridge Theatre

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The fate of the historic Huntridge Theatre near downtown Las Vegas remains uncertain.

The state Cultural Affairs Commission has directed its staff to work with owner Eli Mizrachi to find possible uses for the 64-year-old structure, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The commission previously allocated $1.6 million to help with restoration efforts, money that came with the condition that the building be maintained at least until 2017.

The building, the first desegregated theater in Las Vegas, has been the target of vandals and is a “homeless haven,” Mizrachi told the commission last week.

He asked the commission to allow him to repay a share of the state grant and permit him to use the building as he sees fit. He said he would preserve the theater’s tower and marquee.

Mizrachi has been working with an architect to subdivide the structure while retaining elements of the old building at Charleston Boulevard and Maryland Parkway. A restaurant and a nightclub are among possible uses that have been discussed.

Mizrachi, who spent $1.4 million to buy the theater and an adjoining parcel in 2001, said he has been losing $10,000 a month since the Huntridge closed in 2004.

The commission will review the issue again in September.

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The license of a trust company in Henderson has been suspended after the state found “potential losses” by investors.

The state Financial Institutions Division also fined Enterprise Trust Co. $30,000 and said it had uncovered numerous rules violations, including the lack of adequate internal controls over cash and wire trading activity.

“The lack of internal controls poses an operation risk and potential losses due to misapplication of funds,” the order signed by division Commissioner George Burns said.

The company has been placed under a federal receiver. Burns said his division is working with the Securities and Exchange Commission to preserve the company’s assets, which have been frozen.

Enterprise Trust, 1489 W. Warm Springs Road, is a Nevada corporation, but the local office has been closed. State officials have been told that all of its records were shifted to the company’s office in Oakbrook, Ill.

The summary suspension order said the company never applied for a branch office in Illinois, violating Nevada regulations.

State inspectors traveled Feb. 8 to Illinois to inspect the books and found “the overall condition of the trust company is unsatisfactory.”

The state’s action was taken in conjunction with a $49 million SEC suit against Enterprise filed in federal court in Chicago.