The site of the deadliest residential fire in Las Vegas history is set for a fresh start.
The new owners of Alpine Motel Apartments plan to convert the hostel into modern studios. It’s been nearly two years since a morning fire at a downtown building killed six residents and 13,
Henderson resident John Burnette, one of the buyers, said it was fire safety. is paramount in the project.
“We’re installing all the new fire sprinklers, treating them as a new building,” he said.
Former Alpine owner and owner Adolfo Orozco has now sold nearly all of what was once a multi-million dollar portfolio of two dozen local properties that he, his wife, and four companies owned. they owned at the time of the fire.
Burnette’s company, DLUX Investments, as well as Las Vegas-based Apogee Capital Holdings and Ambleside Properties in Canada paid $1.9 million for the three-story property and its adjacent parking in August. , according to records from the estate.
Burnette says the new DLUX Lofts will retain the Alpine brick masonry, built-in 1972, but will include a completely refurbished interior. The apartments are expected to be open for sale by early 2023, he said.
“This will be 42 apartments of living space that the city center desperately needs,” he said.
Burnette said he is part of a group of investors that have purchased and renovated three apartment complexes near Las Vegas in recent years. The Revive Arts District, Revive Medical District and Groov Studios have colorful murals on their facades, and Burnette said he wanted DLUX Lofts to have one in honor of the victims of the Alpine fires.
“We want to make sure we do the right thing and remember, not forget what happened in Alpine,” he said.
Alpine on fire before dawn on December 21, 2019. Investigators later determined that the deadly fire started in an unattended stove inside an apartment in the middle of a hallway on the first floor of the building. The exact cause of the fire is unknown, but it is believed to be accidental. Dozens of low-income tenants have been displaced.
A review The newspaper also reported that audible fire alarms were silenced a month before the deadly fire and that the property had not been inspected by the fire department in the 32 months leading up to the fire.
Following the fire, city officials discovered more than 40 possible Alpine fire code violations, including a locked rear exit door. Investigators have called the building “dirty”.
Residents allege that their unit’s heater and smoke detector are not working, among other hazardous living conditions. They use ovens andelectric stoves to heat the appliances. The court property also tested positive for asbestos after the fire.
Orozco and former Alpine manager Malinda Mier each face six counts of manslaughter, among others, as a result of the fire. The criminal case is awaiting a court decision.
The Old Orozco Empire
Orozco, also known as Adolfo OrozcoGarcia, started building his real estate portfolio in 2004 while working in Northern California as a sophomore. He bought Alpine in 2013 for $805,000, under his Las Vegas Dragon Hotel LLC company.
At the time of the fire, property records showed that Orozco, his wife Erika Ayala and related companies owned 24 properties in the Las Vegas Valley. According to records, all but two of these properties have been sold since the fire.
The Orozco family still owns their 6,250-square-foot mansion in Las Vegas, which they bought for about $1.5 million in 2017, as well as a condominium. A four-bedroom North Las Vegas home, owned by Orozco since 2007, was sold at a foreclosure auction in November.
The remaining portfolio includes single-family homes. , apartment buildings and four hotels sold for nearly $9.7 million combined, more than double what they were originally purchased for.
Las Vegas Dragon Hotel LLC sold the Starlite Motel for $1.4 million in May, after buying it for $1 million in 2016.
Last year, the company also sold the Economy Motel and hotel Casa Blanca for more than $3.1 million combined. She purchased this property in 2012 and 2015 for less than $1.6 million combined.
La Casa Blanca in North Las Vegas now operates as Studio 6, an extended stay hotel chain operated by Motel 6.
Last year, in a lawsuit against Orozco, former district judge Rob Bare decided determined that Orozco needed a court order to sell. any property valued at more than $25,000.
District Judge Carli Kierny authorized the sale of Alpine in June. Orozco will not have access to the proceeds of the sale until the end of the consolidated civil action.
This money will be used in a judgment case against Orozco, who is not satisfied with the sum insured, said attorney Robert Murdock, whose client Christian Spangler suffered a severe brain injury in the fire for now.
All attorneys involved in the case agreed to the sale of Alpine, Murdock said. They must also agree on the conditions of any real estate sales made by Orozco since the court order.
“It’s better for people – mainly our customers – to authorize this sale, as long as the money is protected,” he said.
Dozens of former residents have filed lawsuits, many of which have been consolidated.
This week, Orozco and his company, Las Vegas Dragon Hotel LLC, filed a lawsuit against several people believed to be involved in the fire, including residents living in the room where the fire started, the city of Las Vegas, and businesses have been monitoring the building for fire alarms.
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