What Happens in Vegas: The Neighborhood That Had to Die

I just picked up this week's Las Vegas CityLife, the local weekly paper, and was surprised to see an article about a friend's former neighborhood. My friend and sometimes fill-in editor Stupid Monkey Planet used to live in what is called "Richfield Village," according to the article, which is news to me. I didn't know it had a name. I'd have called it, "land that's scrunched up next to Palace Station Hotel & Casino, that will probably end up eminent domained."

Surprise! That's what happened, sort of. Corporations behind the scenes started buying up houses, en masse--after my friend had already moved out, naturally. Some people got screwed. Some people made out like bandits. Some people held out for a huge payday. Then the economy crashed. And Station Casinos filed for bankruptcy. And now there is a neighborhood, mostly empty, some of it knocked down, stuck in limbo. And how do you resell empty houses, when people probably figure that one day, the economy will rebound, and the land will go up for grabs again? Yikes.

[Excerpt]

Image from source, Las Vegas City Life

The neighborhood that had to die

Looking east from the heart of Richfield Village, past Rex Bell Elementary School, the mansard roof of Palace Station towers over the sedate neighborhood. By Vegas standards, Richfield is venerable, growing up around Rex Bell, built in 1963. But Palace Station is no longer just a landmark or an employer to Richfield residents. It's also become the elephant in the middle of the neighborhood, dismaying longtime denizens of the neighborhood who see a once-stable community drifting into transience and uncertainty, thanks to Station Casinos. . .

Read more at: Las Vegas City Life