EXCERPTED PORTIONS from a full Las Vegas Weekly feature article by Geoff Carter published Jan 16, 2020. Full Article available here: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1200999-2020-01-16-las-vegas-weekly/9

…I’m here in Dapper’s office because I like what he’s doing, and the way he’s doing it. And I’m not alone. “Meeting with J is totally different,” says multidisciplinary artist Robin Slonina, who’s working with Dapper on an experiential entertainment concept that we’ll talk about shortly. “Everyone else just sent their representatives to meet with us. J not only showed up in person, but with a few members of his staff and even his sister.”

Beginning in late 2018, the walls surrounding the center—the ones that border the Huntridge neighborhood itself—have been steadily covered with murals by JW Caldwell, Sierra Slentz, Lance Smith and other local artists. What was formerly a no man’s land of broken glass is now an increasingly popular destination for Instagrammers.

Work on Huntridge Center continues even now. And the supermarket space is currently earmarked for that aforementioned entertainment concept. (We’re getting there; hold tight.)

Now, about the theater (and the park, and the time machine)

In the meantime, he’s got another Huntridge-area project to develop: Time Machine, an experiential entertainment concept. Its website (www.timemachinelv.com) describes it as an interactive art experience with “aspects of a science exploratorium, an esape room and a playground”; Robin Slonina, a partner on the project with Sean Pasinsky and Sarah Larsen, simply calls it a “ticketed immersive attraction” with “a lobby café, gift shop and small art gallery in the front that’s free and open to the public.” Think along the lines of Meow Wolf, only with all local artists.

Time Machine is set to move into Huntridge Center’s vacant supermarket space. Dapper …likes the energy the project is bringing to the center. “I truly believe in what they’re doing,” he says. “There are a lot of people that just don’t care about sitting in front of a slot machine that still want to come to Vegas. That’s the kind of person that we’re interested in.”

For her own part, Slonina was somewhat surprised by how quickly Dapper warmed to the idea. “Immediately …I felt that he was going to be more than a landlord. He was going to be a supporter, a development partner.”

In fact, Dapper and the Time Machine crew are getting on so well they’re partnering on yet another project: the rehabilitation of nearby Huntridge Circle Park. Dapper has committed to redoing the children’s playground portion; the Time Machine crew wants to create an interactive sculpture park in the other half of the park. Dapper says that an announcement of the project will be made as soon as they can “get everything buttoned up” with the City.