Las Vegas City Council delays decision on Ace Loan pawnshop

A proposal to move a pawnshop out of the path of a major downtown Las Vegas redevelopment project and into a building near a historic residential neighborhood fell flat in City Hall on Wednesday.

But members of the Las Vegas City Council will give Howard Bock another shot to convince residents of the Beverly Green neighborhood that his Ace Loan shop would be a good addition to their community.

And if that doesn't work, it could mean the backers of the Downtown Grand hotel-casino project, formerly the Lady Luck, might have to give Bock more money to move someplace else.

The council voted unanimously to postpone until Jan. 18 a decision on whether Bock should get waivers he needs to move his shop from 215 N. Third Street in the shadow of the shuttered Lady Luck building to a vacant property he owns at 519 E. St. Louis Ave., adjacent to the 1950s-era Beverly Green neighborhood.

The vote came after it appeared there weren't enough council members willing to vote in favor of the waivers and it was determined denial would mean the proposal couldn't come back for at least a year.

Downtown Grand owners CIM Group and operators Fifth Street Gaming want Bock's tiny store out of the way of their $100 million renovation aimed at reopening the hotel-casino as a centerpiece for downtown and a complement to the city supported Mob Museum scheduled to open in February.

But the location Bock wants to move into, a small vacant shop he owns, is so close to another pawnshop and a residential neighborhood that it needs waivers from city distance requirements.

Bock, who didn't attend, was represented by attorney Todd Kessler, who in the past has represented Resort Gaming Group, a former partner in the Lady Luck redevelopment.

Residents in Beverly Green oppose the waivers because they don't want more pawnshops in their section of town.

"They could easily move anywhere they choose to," said Scott Swank, a Beverly Green resident. "In this economy there is a great deal of commercial real estate available at terrific, terrific prices."

Councilman Bob Coffin, who represents Beverly Green and opposed waivers, was persuaded by other council members, including Mayor Carolyn Goodman, to change his motion to merely postpone the decision to give Bock time to propose a spiffier version of a pawnshop that might get backing from neighbors.

"I just think this is something that needs more work," said Goodman, who disclosed before voting that her husband, former Mayor Oscar Goodman, is a business partner on another commercial property with Mark Fine, father of Jeff Fine, a partner in Fifth Street Gaming.

While Coffin agreed to the delay, he was skeptical it would change any minds. He said he suspects the real solution might be for CIM and Fifth Street Gaming to make a better offer to Bock to move out of the Third Street location.

"I think there is something bigger than the zoning issue," Coffin said. "There is a solution, I suspect, and it is the size of the check between these two property owners here."

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.