Clark County dissolves redevelopment program

Letter sent to Various Media in response to closing the redevelopment agency

 

Dear News Team, in response to the Closing of Clark County redevelopment. This is the best thing that could have happened for us. At least for the business owners at The Historic Commercial Center District. Over 150 small business owners within have been neglected for over 10 years. The public parking area within had been left for dead by the county. No money had been funneled in to take care of the basic safety needs. Causing blight leading to millions in sales loss and businesses closing, all in an effort to appease multi million dollar developers to be able to buy out property owners for nothing.

 

Most of the businesses within are minority and women owned. With no major corporation to fight back, redevelopment was getting ready to take a bite out of these innocent victims. In two years time our business association made up of  a few of the best businesses at Commercial Center have turned all blight around, and turned our center into a thriving retail district once again, as it has always been known to be a great place, to dine and shop close to the strip.

 

The real story is that if redevelopment had taken place the way they wanted it to, the relocation guide would have put most of the business out of business permanently, because they payments were not fair or enough to relocate. Actually big developers would have received most of the money and property owners would be able to dispose of their tenants and pocket millions.

 

This is a public outrage that a blight study was published shining a bad light on a shopping center which was blighted mostly from a lack or government care of 18 acres (1000 space parking lot and sidewalks) owned by the county. Just another way Clark County slaps the small business owner in the face in favor or corporate development. Redevelopment can work only when people are paid fair market value.

 

I am president of Commercial Center Business Association and Owner of A Harmony Nail Spa, and just to move my spa to a new location would have cost $250,000, I would have not received this, nor would my neighbors we would all lose our business and life savings. We have received no  real help from the media in fact most of the stories published shined a poor light on Commercial Center, as if the problems that had existed were all our fault. There have been a few papers that have told the truth, The View, Citylife and Las Vegas Weekly. No Television stations have touched us, it all seems pretty fishy to us, and very political.

 

Let us put responsibility on those responsible. So far we have spent over $100,000 to upkeep public land because we were forced to, and we have received nothing in return from the County, even when they were experiencing record tax windfalls during the boom. The truth needs to come out, about the abuse that has happened, and the small business owners of Clark County Commercial Center need to be made whole again. Sincerely Paula Sadler www.commercialcenterdistirct.com 702-737-3478