Home Depot backs out of shopping center deal

Tuesday, March 26, 2002 | 11:26 a.m.

Weingarten Nostat Inc., owner of the Westland Fair shopping center in central Las Vegas, said Home Depot backed out of an agreement to open a home improvement store at the center.

Home Depot, which has nine Las Vegas-area stores and four in the Reno-Carson City area, planned to build a 116,000-square-foot Westland Fair store with a garden center.

Deron Conway, Weingarten's leasing executive, said the mall owner is now trying to lure a replacement tenant to occupy a lot next to the new Wal-Mart that was originally designated for Home Depot.

"We had an agreement with Home Depot but they backed out a year ago. They were going to build their own building but they never did," he said.

Chuck Sifuentes, Home Depot's spokesman, said there was a change of plans but declined to specify the reason for the changes. Home Depot, which has some 1,500 workers in its nine Las Vegas stores, had planned to hire up to 200 workers for the proposed Westland Fair store.

"Whenever Home Depot goes into a market, it's a multi-million dollar investment and we have to make sure that the store will have an even opportunity to do well and succeed," he said.