Houston firm behind Wal-Mart development plan

Phil Levine

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 10:19 a.m.

Houston-based Weingarten Realty Advisers is behind the plan to develop a 564,000-square-foot commercial center at the current site of the Westland Fair shopping mall.

Spanning almost 54 acres at the southeast corner of Charleston and Decatur boulevards, the proposed new project could be anchored by a Wal-Mart supercenter store.

A Weingarten spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Weingarten owns 241 commercial properties in fourteen states, primarily in the Southwest.

The real estate investment trust's portfolio includes 189 shopping centers, 50 industrial properties, as well as one multi-family residential and one office property.

In Las Vegas, Weingarten currently owns seven neighborhood shopping centers.

The company's current Las Vegas commercial properties include College Park at the northeast corner of Flamingo & Sandhill roads; Tropicana Marketplace, at the northwest corner of Tropicana Avenue & Jones Boulevard; Rancho Town & Country, at northwest corner of Rancho Drive and Charleston Boulevard; Mission Center, at the northeast corner of Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road; Rainbow Plaza, at the southwest corner of Rainbow Boulevard and Alta Drive; Francisco Center, at the northeast corner of Decatur Boulevard and Eastern Avenue; and Paradise Marketplace, at the intersection of Flamingo and Sandhill roads.

Dan Adamson, a principal of broker R.O.I. Commercial Real Estate Inc. in Las Vegas, said Weingarten plans to add to its Las Vegas portfolio.

"The company is also currently looking to develop a 257,000-square-foot commercial center at the intersection of Eastern and Horizon Ridge in Henderson," he said.

R.O.I. is the leasing and marketing agent for Weingarten's seven Las Vegas properties.

Adamson said the new Henderson project will be anchored by a Super Kmart store and is slated for completion by next May. Super Kmarts have full-service grocery departments in addition to the general merchandise sections found in all Kmarts.