Demolition for Flamingo?

The latest twist in the story of the old Flamingo Inn Motel on Nevada Way was set to go down on Wednesday with a meeting of the Historical Preservation Commission. (Note that the meeting took place after the Review went to press and actual coverage of the meeting will take place in a future issue.)

Although the property lies outside of the Historic District, the commission was expected to discuss a request by the current owner to raze the building, which first opened as Moore’s Motel in the 1950s. The original owner reportedly died in the early 2000s and left the property to a son. He was not able to keep it as a going concern and it fell into increasing disrepair and was abandoned since at least 2012.

According to city staff, the demolition request is currently under review by the Community Development Department.

The request was made by current owner Hamid Sheikhai on March 25 via the city’s online portal. The application name is Boulder Burgers and under the “detailed description” field, the business is described as, “Outdoor type open-air restaurant. The demolition application lists an architect for the project but, according to city staff, no plans for the future have been submitted.

An email to Sheikhai was not returned before press time.

This is just the latest in a series of twists and turns for the property in the past several years.

In 2021 it was subject to a probate auction and was purchased by Daren and Donna Saunders, who had also developed other Nevada Way properties including the building that houses the Boulder Dam Brewing Company. Interviewed about plans for rehabilitation in April of 2023, the couple said that they intended to convert the old motel into a series of small retail shops aimed at artists and craftspeople. At the time, Donna Saunders explained the concept as, “like Art in the Park, but year-round.”

But, in early October of 2023, For Sale signs suddenly appeared on the Flamingo as well as the three properties owned by the Saunders on Nevada Way.

At that time, Donna Saunders explained the situation in an email. “Two years ago, when we set out to develop our new construction projects, we didn’t properly anticipate the length of time it would take to pull everything together. We now have everything approved by the city and are ready to roll but have unfortunately been faced with family challenges from our growing list of grandchildren and the need to help care for our aging moms living on both sides of the pond. My 88-year-old mother is especially challenged and needs our focused attention. My husband and I have decided it is time to sell all of our Boulder City office properties and development projects and free ourselves to focus on our families and officially call ourselves ‘retired’.”

Then, in early November of that year, a local real estate agent put up a social media post saying the Flamingo property had sold.

The potential buyers, Martin and Delilah Mueller of Las Vegas, owners of Mueller Custom Cabinetry, had extensive experience working on interiors for Las Vegas casinos and high-end restaurants.

The Muellers met with Mayor Joe Hardy and city staff and described the meeting as positive and supportive of their plan to keep the property as a motel. However, by the following day, the couple had had a change of heart.

“There was nothing that can’t be worked around,” said Delilah Mueller in an email. “But for us, personally, there were enough unknowns to convince us we could end up in costly renovation that would outweigh the benefit of the investment.”

In early 2024, the property was purchased by Sheikhai. The demolition permit is the first indication of his intentions for the property.