Ghermezians bring strength, stir to downtown

Tuesday, June 26, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

Alternately described as flamboyant and publicity shy, the Ghermezian family can cause an entire metropolis to stir merely by announcing a potential development in that city.

The Ghermezians, who operate locally as Triple Five Development, are the developers of Boca Park at Charleston and Rampart boulevards. They also are part of the development team that is building a massive wholesale furniture mart on downtown land, which adjoins 61 acres the city is seeking to develop.

Millennium City Inc., which is behind the furniture mart project, is one of four developers bidding for a stake in the 61 acres. The company sees a correlation between the furniture mart project and the vacant downtown land. The company is proposing to build an academic medical center, cultural arts center, office and high-density residential on the property.

An example of the developer's vision can be found in Mesa, Ariz. In 1998 the family gained approval to build a $200 million "urban village" of high-end boutiques, chic restaurants and galleries topped by condominiums.

"It's quite a coup for Mesa to have the first project like this in the state," Mesa City Councilman Dennis Kavanagh told the Arizona Republic.

That reaction is understandable, given the fact the Canadian-based family owns the world's largest mall, the 5.3 million-square-foot West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. They also hold a minority stake in this country's largest shopping center, the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. That mall also was their brainchild.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported in 1992, when the Mall of America opened, that Nader Ghermezian often told naysayers of that development: "I bring you the moon, and you don't want it?"

The Ghermezians, led by brothers Bahman, Eskander, Nader and Raphael, first brought their real estate acumen to Southern Nevada in the 1980s, when they helped develop Peccole Ranch.

Their extensive holdings in Clark County, many of which are affiliated with the moniker Triple Five, include such commercial centers as Village Center Square at Sahara Avenue and Fort Apache Road, Boca Park at Charleston and Rampart boulevards and Colonnade Square at Pebble Road and Eastern Avenue.

The Ghermezians also have generated a fair share of controversy, including prolonged legal battles related to their Canadian mall. They fought creditors and incurred the wrath of Alberta taxpayers, who took on $420 million in liability to help refinance the mall after the family encountered financial problems in 1993. They have vehemently denied allegations that they committed bribery to secure the refinancing.

Controversy also touched the brothers over their plans to build a neighborhood casino in Spring Valley. The project was initially approved by the Clark County Commission but ultimately rejected last year by the state Gaming Policy Committee in a decision upheld by a Carson City District Court judge.

Family patriarch Jacob Ghermezian, an Iranian rug merchant and devout Hasidic Jew, founded the family business as a teenager in the 1920s when his country was still known as Persia. Economic instability in that country helped convince him to move his family and business to North America in the 1950s.

They moved to Alberta in the late 1960s and began speculating in land, acquiring real estate at bargain prices before the Canadian oil boom of the 1970s. By 1974 they were the largest private landholders in Edmonton, The Financial Post reported.

Through the family's Triple Five Corp. Ltd. they opened the $1.1 billion West Edmonton Mall. Built in phases from 1981 to 1985, the mall boasts 800 stores, an amusement park, an ice rink, a live dolphin show and a lake. It was in 1985 that the family initially sold Minnesota on the idea of the Mall of America. That mall has enough retail space to fill 41 football fields, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and also has an amusement park and golf course.

By the time Jacob Ghermezian died at 97 in January 2000, it was reported that he had created 50,000 jobs.

"Under his guidance, Triple Five has become one of North America's most visionary and diverse group of companies," the family stated upon his death. In addition to the malls, he developed hotels and suburban communities.

Style-wise, the Ghermezians are known as persistent negotiators who are adept at securing public financing to assist in their developments.

The family also remains highly reclusive. The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper, reported last year that the Ghermezians built secret tunnels connecting their Edmonton homes.