Grand Canyon mall set for Strip

Phil Levine

Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1999 | 11:11 a.m.

This city already has casinos replicating New York City, Paris, ancient Rome, contemporary Italy, a medieval castle and an Egyptian pyramid.

So it should come as little surprise that visitors to Showcase mall on the Las Vegas Strip will soon be shopping in a replica of the Grand Canyon.

A $4.3 million replication of the Grand Canyon will encompass half of the 44,000 square feet of additional retail space planned for the mall, developers said Tuesday.

The Grand Canyon section of the mall will feature a false sky with a helicopter hovering above. A flowing stone sidewalk will lead shoppers off the Strip and into the mall expansion.

The project will also offer an hourly theatrical show featuring waterfalls, a lightning storm and flash floods against the Grand Canyon backdrop. Retail products for sale will include gifts reflecting Southwest and Las Vegas themes.

Groundbreaking on the proposed expansion is set for Nov. 1, with a completion date of April 2000. Cost of the entire project is estimated at $33 million.

The Showcase mall is adjacent to the MGM Grand hotel-casino and is already home to such all-American institutions as the World of Coca-Cola, M&M's World and the All-Star Cafe.

The Grand Canyon project is being built by M & K Enterprises of Las Vegas, minority partner in the mall's expansion. RB Enterprises, a partnership of Showcase Mall developers Barry Fieldman and Bob Unger, is the project's majority owner.

"We believe the uniqueness of this project is what will initially attract shoppers," said Lou Simkins, president of M & K Enterprises. "One million people a month walk by that location, and we'll be doing things that can't be found elsewhere. The idea of using one of the seven wonders of the world was very appealing to us. We're going to promise our customers the ultimate shopping experience."

Fieldman was succinct in his assessment of the proposed natural wonder backdrop.

"It's pretty cool," he said. "I think people will really be impressed with what they see there."

Fieldman said M & K Enterprises will serve as both minority partner in the expansion, as well as a tenant. The Grand Canyon project will share the expanded mall facility with Sephora, an upscale beauty product retailer, and a third as yet unnamed tenant.

Honolulu-based AM Partners will serve as the architect for the Grand Canyon section of the project. The company was selected after a review of six other architectural firms from across the country. AM Partner's previous Las Vegas projects include the W.H. Smith stores in McCarran International Airport and the Mikimoto and Lido Beach Shops at the Venetian hotel-casino.

Las Vegas-based Friedmutter Group is the prime architect for the shopping mall expansion.