La Fiesta eyed as adult biz complex

The CNMI Commerce Department is eyeing the now abandoned La Fiesta mall in San Roque as a potential site for a complex housing strip clubs and similar adult businesses.

The La Fiesta property has remained eerily vacant ever since its doors shut in 2004 amid reports of severe financial problems by its previous owners. Yet Commerce in a proposal presented to the CNMI Zoning Board June 30 said the mall—three corridors of retails space totaling more than 37,000 square meters—provides an “ideal set up” for a so-called “adult business park” because it has design elements suited for the task.

The zoning board is now taking proposals from prospective investors on the creation of such a park—a hub for businesses like x-rated clubs, adult bookstores and massage parlors—in an effort to improve the image of Saipan’s tourism centers by moving such establishments to more discreet locations.

“From a regulatory enforcement standpoint, La Fiesta makes sense,” said Deputy Commerce Secretary Michael Ada in an interview Monday, noting that keeping adult businesses in one concentrated location would aid in the enforcement of alcohol regulations and other laws. “This is just an idea we wanted to put out there. From our standpoint, it could stimulate some investment in the economy.”

Ada added that some investors on Guam have expressed early interest in the La Fiesta plan.

Commerce’s proposal comes after the zoning board last week gave its preliminary approval to a set of proposed regulations establishing a zone along Middle Road where adult businesses will be concentrated.

Zoning administrator Steve Tilley said the board will publish the plan as a formal proposal in July and take comments on it from the public. The board could finalize the proposal as early as August, giving adult businesses one year to relocate to the zone.

Tilley and the board have said the plan will make the atmosphere in tourism areas such as Garapan more “family friendly” while maintaining the presence of adult businesses on the island.

In a series of documents submitted to the Zoning Board, Ada said the La Fiesta property could handle a significant volume of traffic flow and give police and regulators a focal point for enforcement efforts.

To manage the proposed complex, the owners would also retain a firm tasked with overseeing security, according to the documents.

Before any plans for La Fiesta can move forward, however, Tilley noted the board expects to hear from any businesses or residents in the surrounding area. In addition, any potential investors or backers of the plan will have to submit a more detailed and formal proposal, he said.