LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – Las Vegas business developer Irwin Molasky died at the age of 93, according to his family.
Her son Steven Molasky tells 13 Action News that his father died of natural causes on Saturday.
“We lost a great man,” Steven said of his father. “A lion of a man, for his family, friends and his Las Vegas community that he loved so much.”
Governor Steve Sisolak called Molasky a “great friend and an extremely influential figure in the Las Vegas community.”
In an email he wrote:
Irwin Molasky was a great friend and an extremely influential figure in the Las Vegas community. While this loss is tragic, Irwin’s influence will live on in Nevada for years through the various projects he helped develop and the significant impacts of his philanthropic efforts throughout the Las Vegas Valley. Your vision and commitment to our state will be missed. Kathy and I send our love to Molasky’s family and friends and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers.
Molasky was behind several major development projects in Las Vegas and was a member of the Nevada Business Hall of Fame.
Among his many accomplishments, Molasky developed the first private hospital in Nevada, Sunrise Hospital, and the state’s first closed mall, the Boulevard Mall, according to his biography on the UNLV website.
His full biography says:
Las Vegas would not be the city it is today if it weren’t for Irwin Molasky. As president of Paradise Development Company since 1951, he is responsible for much of the city’s skyline and continues to set the trend with his current projects.
Molasky has developed numerous buildings and institutions that have contributed significantly to the state of Nevada and its people. Among its most notable developments are the first private hospital in Nevada (Sunrise), the first planned community (Paradise Palms), the first golf community, the first high-rise building in downtown Las Vegas (Plaza Bank of America) and the first closed shopping center in the state (the Boulevard Mall). Its most recent development, Park Towers, has received praise as one of the best luxury condo buildings in the country.
Active in the community and numerous philanthropic organizations, Molasky played a critical role in UNLV’s early development through the donation of 45 acres on the Flamingo and Maryland Parkway. He is a founding member of the UNLV Foundation.
Find out more at UNLV.edu.
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