LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – It is an eyesore for sure.
The public sees boarded up abandoned condo buildings at the Paradise Spa complex on South Las Vegas Boulevard near West Silverado Ranch Boulevard.
On Wednesday, FOX5 got a look at what’s behind the plywood.
There are several holes inside the multi-unit structures. The holes lead from one unit to another.
The President of the Paradise Spa Homeowners Association says homeless people created the holes to navigate their way around the abandoned structures. The building FOX5 toured is where the complex says a homeless man died in a fire this month.
“I don’t want other people to die in fires trying to keep warm,” said Michele Kennedy.
While the name of the person who died hasn’t been officially released, Michele Kennedy says she knows the victim and is urging other people not to go inside the abandoned buildings.
If someone was deep inside a building, by crawling through holes, their escape from a fire would be blocked by the boarded-up windows and doors. And the smoke might block them from seeing a hole they crawled in through, while trying to get out.
The complex says the area has been sold and the abandoned buildings will be torn down, but officials don’t expect that to happen until late next year.
Dennis Snapp, the Paradise Spa Homeowners Association President, says the complex is finding it tough to pay water bills, let alone pay to tear down abandoned buildings.
He says he kicks homeless people off the property all the time, but many simply return when he goes home. FOX5 saw fences around some of the abandoned buildings, but people have cut holes in the fences to gain access.
Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.
