Huntridge Theater owner gets her wishes for secondhand store

Cima Mizrachi hasn't even started repainting the careworn Huntridge Theater building near downtown Las Vegas, but she's already accomplished one major turnaround.

On Wednesday the City Council voted unanimously to approve a $19,000 visual improvement grant as well as a special use permit for secondhand sales on the property, just six months after the Planning Commission denied her plans for the building.

The approvals came in three votes, one by the Redevelopment Agency board which is made up of council members and two by the council itself. That means Mizrachi can get to work converting the landmark property into what she hopes will be a viable business.

Mizrachi's successful appeal of the January rejection by the Planning Commission was orchestrated in large part by Councilman Bob Coffin, who views the property as important to nearby neighborhoods and thinks the benefits of its revival will win over skeptical neighbors.

"I think the councilman has seen what I have done and sees that I am not trying to keep the building looking the same," Mizrachi said, referring to a used furniture store she and her husband recently opened on Main Street. "I want better for the community. I hope they embrace the changes and are excited as I am."

Mizrachi's family owns the Huntridge Theater and adjoining structures, and her father operates a furniture store on the property.

But the large, plain-looking painted signs and shabby facade have annoyed residential neighbors who pine for the days when the theater operated as a music and community arts venue and, even further back, as a movie theater.

The Mizrachi family, however, has said the failure of those earlier uses shows the property needs new ideas if it is going to survive.

That's why Mizrachi sought in January to acquire a secondhand sales permit in an effort to convert her father's furniture store into something more trendy and eclectic.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously against that proposal after neighbors likened it to plopping a pawn shop into their community.

Mizrachi appealed to the council; Coffin, who represents the area, stepped in to facilitate a proposal that would help the business and pass muster with neighbors.

"I held it for almost six months based upon neighborhood protests and suggestions that this family abandon the business and put something else in there," Coffin said.

The public money, which came through the city's visual improvement program, will be matched by the Mizrachi family and used to paint and rehabilitate the facade, which includes the distinctive Huntridge tower.

The special use permit will allow Mizrachi to proceed with a plan to sell vintage furniture and home accessories.

As for the theater itself, it remains unused with the seats removed and the lobby mostly unchanged since it closed down years ago.

Mizrachi said she and her family want to work with neighbors to identify a use that will benefit the community and be economically sustainable.

"There are a lot of things in the talks; it is just a matter of getting the exterior done first, then we can move inward," she said. "The corner will be the furniture store for now."

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at
bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.