Neonopolis’ planned opening passes

Erin Neff

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2000 | 11:08 a.m.

Holiday shoppers and movie-goers were supposed to have a new place to spend money and catch the latest Dalmatian flick today.

But Neonopolis hasn't happened. And a centrally located block downtown still sits vacant and fenced with tourists walking by toward the Fremont Street lights oblivious to the space on their right.

The planned entertainment retail center ran into so many problems that city officials, including Mayor Oscar Goodman, publicly bemoaned the delays and threatened to take over the private sector portion of the partnership.

Goodman's deadlines quickly crumbled and the developers cried he wasn't supportive enough of the project. Yet Neonopolis has seen nothing in the way of announced tenant leases or the start of construction all year, meaning the mall won't be ready for next Thanksgiving either.

"From everything I've heard, I have to believe that they're ready to start going up vertically," Goodman said. "Once they do that, there's no going back."

Chardell Steves, the leasing agent for Neonopolis, said construction will begin next month after a Dec. 12 ceremony to sign the first I-beam to be bolted into place.

"This is very exciting for us," Steves said. "We've got people out there at the site making sure everything's ready."

Everything around Neonopolis has been ready and waiting for months. The city-constructed $32 million subterranean parking garage lies vacant, giving the city no income to pay down the debt incurred building the structure.

Tourists who stay on Fremont Street hop buses and cabs for shopping and eating experiences on the Strip as downtown business owners wonder when help will arrive.

When the $99 million retail entertainment center was first approved in 1998, both the city and the casino members of the Fremont Street Experience considered the project another boost to downtown revitalization efforts.

But a year later, amid stiff competition from retail outlets on the Strip, Neonopolis had named just one tenant -- Mann Theatres.

Mann was forced to pull out from the project when its parent company, WestStar Cinemas, filed for bankruptcy protection.

For the past year, Neonopolis developers have bickered with the city over deadlines, claiming they were unable to begin construction on the retail portion of the project because the city's garage wasn't safe enough or dry enough or strong enough.

At one point Goodman demanded to know the name of a theater replacement by Feb. 1.

He's still waiting.

Sources have told the Sun that Neonopolis is negotiating with Resort Theaters of America, a Los Angeles-based upscale cinema chain with screens in Utah, Colorado and California.

And others have mentioned the potential involvement by Kodak in developing a state-of-the-art cinema component with the theater tenant.

During an Oct. 5 party to celebrate the opening of Neonopolis' new leasing office downtown, Steves said she would be able to announce tenants within 30 days. Now she said she expects to be able to announce tenants by January.

"We can't say anything until they're fully landlord and tenant executed," Steves said of the leases.

If construction begins next month, Neonopolis will be ready to open Feb. 21, 2002.