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Squatters keep taking over 7-story Vegas-area apartment building that stalled out while under construction

Construction work on the building in Henderson, Nevada, stopped in December

Michelle Del Rey
Thursday 25 July 2024 18:11 EDT
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A Nevada business owner says he is concerned about squatters causing damage to a Las Vegas-area high-rise building where construction halted last year.

Jeremy Day, owner of neighboring business Freakā€™s Tattoo Emporium, is working to keep The Watermark, a mixed-use apartment building in Downtown Henderson, clean. Heā€™s complained about how alleged squatters have pried the fence posts open in front of the building.

ā€œI donā€™t know how they bent it,ā€ Day told KLAS. ā€œI tried bending it back with a ratcheting tie-down strap by putting it across and putting it back again a couple of times, but they keep bending it open somehow.ā€

Day has struggled to locate the propertyā€™s owner. His tattoo shop runs along the south side of the building. He said he has told the squatters to keep away from the building several times. Other residents are concerned about rising theft in the area.

The man is not financially attached to the building but is worried that the squatters may cause fires thatā€™ll reach his business.

A photo of the The Watermark, an abandoned high-rise in Nevada
A photo of the The Watermark, an abandoned high-rise in Nevada (KLAS)

ā€œIā€™m worried as time goes on, it gets out cold, theyā€™re going to light fires or something,ā€ he said. ā€œIā€™ve had multiple confrontations where Iā€™ve actually told them, they need to leave the property. Theyā€™re in the parking garage, as far as I know, but theyā€™re in there all the time.ā€

Day says he contacted the police about the problem but they allegedly told him there was nothing they could do.

ā€œHe said the biggest problem is because they donā€™t have a list of whoā€™s supposed to go into the property,ā€ Day said. ā€œThey said unless the owners call them, thereā€™s no way to know if the person is allowed in there or not.ā€

Construction on the building stalled in December when contractors walked off the job. There are around $16m in liens against the property.

Earlier this year graffiti covered at least 27 stories of an unfinished high-rise development in Los Angeles. The three-tower project was going to house a hotel and luxury condos, but the project stalled in 2019 when a Chinese developer ran out of money.

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