Taking shape: Retail development speeding up in Summerlin

Kevin Ferguson

Monday, Sept. 10, 2001 | 11:08 a.m.

Four mechanics are sitting in their shop making small talk on a Tuesday afternoon.

Assistant Manager Darrow Nutter says business has been slow since the Midas shop opened July 1 on the corner of West Charleston Boulevard and Hualapai Way in the fast-growing Summerlin district of Las Vegas.

The mechanics have plenty of time to chat -- for the time being, anyway.

"Around 3 p.m. the guys from other (Midas) shops clock out and come here to shoot the (breeze). They can't go home to the wife until 5 p.m.," Nutter said.

"Every day (business) gets a little better," adds Nutter, who blames the slow business on the mostly undeveloped land to the west. "There's no reason for anybody to come down here yet and notice we're here."

Part of that western land includes a new Albertson's shopping center, which opens this week, which Nutter and other shop owners in the Charleston Auto Care Center are hoping will draw more cars to the area.

The Auto Care Center and Center Pointe Plaza, which includes the Albertson's, are in Summerlin Centre and are the second and third major retail centers to open within Summerlin since the Howard Hughes Corp. began developing the 22,500 acres in western Las Vegas a little more than a decade ago.

The first was the Trails Village Center in northern Summerlin, which opened in 1998 with a Vons supermarket as the anchor tenant. Aside from the Trails, most Summerlin residents have had to venture just beyond the community's borders for most of their shopping.

Since development began in 1990, Summerlin has become home to more than 63,000 people.

"We've got the rooftops, parks, recreation and cultural centers, now comes the commercial infill," said Tom Warden, vice president of community relations at Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin. "The commercial is now finally taking shape."

Once the Summerlin community is built-out, possibly by 2015, it will include about 16 shopping centers totaling 5 million square feet. These retail outlets will range from 15,000 square feet service centers to a 1.5 million square foot regional mall.

A Costco superstore is under development as part of the 62-acre Canyon Pointe shopping center at the northeast corner of the West Charleston Boulevard and the Western Beltway, also known as Interstate 215. Costco is expected to open by the year's end.

The heart of Summerlin's retail and entertainment is still three to four years away. In 1997, Hughes announced plans for a 1 million square-foot shopping mall that was scheduled to open in 2000 near the Western Beltway and Park Center Drive.

But the start of construction has been pushed back at least twice.

A "Main Street" themed town center has also been talked about publicly since 1999. This pedestrian-friendly atmosphere would allow residents to stroll from their homes to nearby shops, restaurants and entertainment. This has been planned in an area just east of the regional mall.

Both projects are still coming, say executives for Hughes and its corporate parent Rouse Co. of Columbia, Md.

Construction of the regional mall, now scheduled to be 1.5 million square feet, is expected to begin in 2004, with completion by early 2006, said Rita Brandin, vice president and development director for the Rouse Co.

Brandin said a number of elements out of the company's control have led to the delays on the mall. She said the completion of the Western Beltway was a significant step forward.

Also, four of the five planned anchor tenants are currently focusing on new stores or expanded stores at Rouse's Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip, Brandin said.

Those stores are Dillards, Robinsons-May, Macy's and Lord & Taylor.

The Rouse Co. has also been pre-occupied with directing the $300 million-plus expansion of the Strip shopping mall, she said.

"It has been important to complete that expansion," Brandin said, noting the Fashion Show expansion is planned for completion by fall 2003.

The "Main Street" themed community would be developed around the same time as the regional Summerlin mall, said Stew Gibbons, Howard Hughes Corp. executive vice president.

"It's still in the planning stages," Gibbons said.

This main street concept would include a mix of condominiums and second-story apartments built above offices and retail shops. The area would also include entertainment venues.

This "main street" area would be bounded by West Charleston Boulevard, Hualapai Way, Sahara Avenue and Desert Foothills Drive.

"This urban town center theme would be a five-minute walk to the regional mall," Gibbons said.

This concept is unique to the Las Vegas Valley, said Matt Bear, a local retail analyst and a principle in NewMarket Commercial Real Estate Advisors.

"It's gaining popularity with (government) planning boards around the country because it reduces vehicular congestion," Bear said.

That's a major part of the Summerlin concept, say Hughes executives, who are promoting the community as a place to live, work and play.

Summerlin's 22,500 acres will have 30 "villages" upon build-out, with each village having its distinct landscaping, parks and neighborhood shopping centers.

When Summerlin development began in 1990, Hughes projected the community to reach build-out of 160,000 residents around 2015.

"At the rate we're going, we're a bit ahead of schedule," Hughes' Warden said.