Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
By Dave Toplikar (contact) 
Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 | 12:16 p.m.
About $10.6 million in historic tax credit equity — including $5.5 for construction costs — is expected to be brought in over the next five years to help pay for the $42 million Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas.
That funding is being secured thanks to action taken today by the Las Vegas City Council along with efforts by the 300 Stewart Avenue Corp., the nonprofit organization overseeing the museum.
The Mob Museum, which is being constructed in the former post office and federal building at 300 Stewart, is thought to be the largest project to receive historic tax credits in Nevada, according to the state Historic Preservation Office.
Because the funds won't be available until next year, part of today's council action was to reallocate to the museum $2.5 million in funds previously set aside for the Regional Public Safety Complex so the museum construction costs can be paid this year.
Under today's action, the city will be compensated for the $2.5 million in 2012, when the city receives $5.5 million in tax credit equity for its role as developer of the Mob Museum.
The remaining amount of the $10.6 million in historic tax credit equity will be distributed to an affiliate of the nonprofit 300 SAC, which is expected to manage the museum when it opens next year. The museum's construction funding is coming through a variety of sources: local, state and federal grants, matching grants and the city's redevelopment agency.
The Mob Museum, dedicated to the history of organized crime and law enforcement, will feature interactive exhibits when it opens Feb. 14, 2012. Much of the focus has been on how law enforcement defeated and continues to battle organized crime.
The 41,000-square-foot museum is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to the downtown area when it opens.
It includes about 16,800 square feet of exhibition space on three floors in addition to a specialty retail store, special event areas, educational areas and office space.
Sun archives
- Preservationists ponder impact of Lady Luck footbridge on Mob Museum (7-27-2011)
- Tourism officials updated on progress of Mob Museum (10-13-2010)
- Mob museum gets about $15,000 more from state (10-6-2010)
- State pulls historic preservation grants to projects, including Mob Museum (9-21-2010)
- Mob Museum gets $500,000 grant (7-30-2010)
- City approves $7.1 million for mob museum exhibits (7-7-2010)
- City council accepts $300,000 more for downtown mob museum (6-16-2010)
- Union: City spending too much on mob museum (5-25-2010)
- Goodman tours mob museum, says ‘there is no competition’ (5-25-2010)
- Downtown Mob Museum set up to be self-supporting (4-21-2010)
- Downtown museum to tell story of mob in Las Vegas, elsewhere (3-25-2010)
what a waste of a project. It seems like very little thought went into this, other than trying to make some money for the former mayor and his buddies.
Too bad, because we have some real problems in the city/county/state.
42 million for 41,000 square feet. $1,000 a foot.
"Heh you got a problem wid that?"
Tremendous waste of money. I can just see all the tourists walking between an empty hotel/casino and a biker bar to get there from downtown. Can't wait to see what lv will look like in five years with all of bozos plans in the works.
This has a snowballs chance in hell of succeeding.
improveLV,
I would be interested in knowing how Mr. Goodman is going to make money off this Museum.
Since that is your statement could you provide us with details?
Guys like this antique over here,out of Detroit.
Or especially guys like Remo Gaggi,the outfit's top boss.
Goodman has it all wrong. For this kind of price, he needs to call it the "Mob Hall of Fame". Thus it becomes a universal goal for aspiring candidates. The electors or assenters are drawn from law enforcement and each year's ceremony offers new memberships based on a lifetime of outstanding achievements in the world of criminal activity. And of course, someone will want their proverbial cut and or a piece of the action!
Sounds like a great place for my daughter's first grade class to go for a field trip.
Seriously, this is the dumbest idea for a museum i have ever seen, and the fact that it is being publicly financed is just the cherry on top. What an embarrassment.
Mr. Toplikar,
I would recommend the following correction to this article: "The 41,000-square-foot museum is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of tourists [per year] to the downtown area [after] it opens."
Also, it's not clear in this article as to whether or not this is a non-profit museum. One might assume it is non-profit based on the tax credits and 300 Stewart Ave organization overseeing the museum. However, if it is not, then I think you might have a more interesting article regarding huge tax credits going to a for-profit museum during a time in which the city is in desperate need of tax revenues.
vegaslee, I should have been more clear. I wasn't accusing him of corruption (though I have heard some rumors), I was referring to the attention he gets from something like this, that allows him to make money selling books, or opening restaurants, or whatever else. It's just something else that's keeping him in the spotlight and allowing him to use his name to make money.
They need to include the unions in this museum as they are the last remanant of the mob left, at least in a visable manner in Las vegas.