Home’s connection to early Las Vegan blocks plans for downtown high-rise

A plot of downtown Las Vegas land is back on the market after the would-be developers couldn't find a way to move a historic house once owned by Charles "Pop" Squires.

Tower Realty and Development had applied to build a five-story, 52,500-square-foot building on the 400 block of South Seventh Street but was told by the city of Las Vegas that it had to preserve the house at 408 S. Seventh St.

Another downtown property owner offered a spot for the house, but moving it was too expensive, said Wayne Tew, president and CEO of the Clark County Credit Union, which owns the land.

Without meeting the city's requirements, "they didn't have a building to do," he said.

The Spanish Revival house, built in 1931, has value because of its design and its one-time owner. Squires was one of Las Vegas' founders, buying land in the original 1905 auction, establishing a bank and a hotel, helping write the city's charter, publishing the Las Vegas Age and serving as editor of the Review-Journal.

He lived in the house from 1947 until his death in 1958.

The proposed building would have included condos, shops and office space.

It came up for approval in November, but Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese said a plan for preserving the house must be in place for the city to give the go-ahead.

So, like a lot of other property owners in Southern Nevada, the credit union has some real estate for sale.

"We're just kind of sitting with it, hoping to do something with it," Tew said.

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