Comments (8) | Add a comment
Downtown pawn shop to stay put
-
K.M. CANNON/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Ace Loan Co. owner Howard Bock has decided not to move his pawnshop, which stands next to the former Lady Luck hotel-casino. The casino is being remodeled and has been renamed the Downtown Grand. Downtown 3rd entertainment district developers failed to persuade Bock to move the pawnshop to another location. » Buy this photo
Tools
-
Ace Loan store on Third Street is next to Downtown Grand, the former Lady Luck hotel-casino. Developers of the Downtown 3rd entertainment district tried to usher the pawn shop out of the area, but its owners have decided to stay. K.M. CANNON/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL » Buy this photo
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Jan. 17, 2012 | 4:30 p.m.
Developers seeking to put an upscale sheen on the Downtown 3rd entertainment district will need to include a pawnshop in their plans, whether they like it or not.
The owner of Ace Loan Co., at 215 N. Third St., the pawnshop Downtown 3rd creators tried to usher out of the area, has decided to stay in the hopes that business will improve once the former Lady Luck reopens as the swanky Downtown Grand.
"We are going to stay, and that is it," said Howard Bock, who with his wife, Caryl, owns Ace and another pawnshop, John's Loan & Jewelry Co., at 2230 S. Paradise Road. "I think we have a bright future there."
Bock, a longtime Las Vegas pawnbroker, moved into the building on Third Street and the second location on Paradise several years ago after selling a shop on First Street to make way for an expansion of the Golden Nugget.
However, the Third Street store found itself in the path of another casino resort renovation, this time by Lady Luck owner CIM group, which has a development agreement with the city to invest more than $100 million in its project by 2013.
Fifth Street Gaming, which CIM hired to operate several properties including the former Lady Luck, sought to persuade Bock to move again.
Bock had planned to move into a commercial building he already owns on St. Louis Avenue near Las Vegas Boulevard, but activists in the nearby Beverly Green residential neighborhood objected.
They pressured the City Council to block Bock's application for a waiver from distance requirements. That would have allowed the store to move within about 20 feet of another pawnshop and a few hundred feet from residences.
Steve Franklin, a Beverly Green resident and real estate agent who goes by the name "Downtown Steve," organized opposition among people who said too many pawnshops would detract from the area, which is characterized by historic homes and considered an improving neighborhood.
Franklin said that while he respected Bock, he worried the waivers would set a precedent for more pawnshops run by less scrupulous owners.
"It was the future after him that was a huge concern for me," Franklin said.
Bock, who owns the building on Third Street as well, decided it wasn't worth continuing to fight, especially because his existing store could expect to see hundreds of more people walking by daily once the Downtown Grand and city-funded Mob Museum open up on the same block.
"We are tired of fighting with a crazy fringe group," Bock said.
He plans to take advantage of the increase in foot traffic on Third by upgrading to higher quality merchandise in the store.
"That will be one of the best pawnshops in Las Vegas," Bock said.
Seth Schorr, CEO of Fifth Street Gaming, said despite the effort to help Bock move, the company would welcome his shop's continued existence on Third Street.
"Fifth Street Gaming is happy to have the Pawn Shop as a part of Downtown 3rd," Schorr said in a statement. "However, if Mr. Bock does decide to move his location, we have many great concepts that would equally benefit the neighborhood."
Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Vegas needs a historical land mark and pawn shops are good for the economy. helps the casinos stay open for business. how else are the unemployed could get a stake to gamble or crooks to fence their goodies.
I went into the shop once and all they have is out-dated junk and the old woman is cranky.
Lovely picture, "Welcome to Las Vegas".
If Jan Jones were still mayor, the pawn shop would be removed through the misuse of eminent domain, and would result in taxpayers having to pay the city's legal fees in a losing court battle. Bock would eventually win a judgment for millions of tax dollars, as happened in the Pappas case.
Jackov, I think it better said that Las Vegas feeds on the down and outers. Too much scum is lurking about, ready to exploit the unfortunate.
Pawn shops, payday lenders, & subprime homes fuel the Las Vegas economy.
Built a pawnshop in NW Houston in the 80's. Brand new building. What people could not understand was that directly across the street was the original pawnshop. And there were no plans to close the business there. After getting numerous questions, I responded that "the new pawn shop is for stuff that isn't stolen". Needless to say, my boss told me to shut my mouth. But it was true regardless
Casinos and Pawnshops go hand in hand. One business gets all a customers cash. The other get's whats left.