Thursday, April 15, 2004 | 10:38 a.m.
In a market like Las Vegas, which features such development oddities as a massive black pyramid and thrill rides hanging off a 1,149-foot tower, there are few opportunities to do something new.
Real estate industry experts, however, have indicated that a freshly minted Henderson development that opened today could have achieved that distinction.
"It's unique in Las Vegas," said Jeremy Aguero, an industry analyst with Applied Analysis. "I think it resets the bar as far as retail is concerned."
Located at Green Valley Parkway and the Beltway, The District at Green Valley Ranch is a 400,000-square-foot, $80 million mixed-use center developed by American Nevada Company.
The Greenspun family, which owns the Las Vegas Sun, owns American Nevada.
Shoppers, including 300 to 400 people who arrived prior to the official 10 a.m. opening, were impressed by the mall's open-air environment.
"The reason I like it is you can come in and sit down and watch people. I'm a people watcher," Mary Lytell said.
Others said they were happy to have upscale shops accessible to them in Henderson.
"The stores are perfect. I'm so happy to have these kinds of stores here," Pam Abramowitz said, adding that before The District opened, she had to go all the way to Summerlin to go to stores such as Williams-Sonoma.
John Kilduff, president of American Nevada Company, said just before the opening: "We're excited about the opening. We hope people come out and experience it and enjoy it."
The center includes 195,000 square feet of retail space that is 94 percent leased. Twenty-nine of the 42 leased shops planned to open this morning. Among the stores slated to open today are women's clothing stores Coldwater Creek, Ann Taylor Loft, J. Jill, Talbot's and White House/Black Market and home-goods stores Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Sharper Image.
Making The District unique, experts said, is the variety of tenants that will share space with retailers and shoppers.
The District also includes 120,000 square feet of residential space and 25,000 square feet of office space, all to be located above the retail shops. There also is a separate 60,000-square-foot office building.
American Nevada, which said it has received hundreds of inquiries for its 88 residential units, has not decided whether it will lease or sell those units.
The center was designed around pedestrian-friendly walkways to encourage shoppers to wander through without the feeling of an enclosed mall.
"It's not a mall," said Kilduff. "It's Main Street USA."
He said bringing together the residential, retail and commercial components in a compatible development was not an easy task.
"It's been challenging," Kilduff said. "But it has also been rewarding. You get to exercise a lot of creative opportunities."
Justin Dent, project manager for McCarthy Building Companies Inc., which served as general contractor on The District, said the unique nature of the project created new challenges.
"This project is a first, so there is no simple mold to follow," Dent said. "Also, here are unique challenges inherent to combining several different building structures, such as residential and retail, into one building."
The new shops and restaurants also are expected to be an added plus for Green Valley's neighboring residential real estate market.
Emily Gunning, a residential real estate agent with Prudential Americana, said the high-end shops will fit well with the upscale demographic of many surrounding homes.
It also allows Green Valley to match the recent flurry of retail development in areas in and around Summerlin in western Las Vegas -- areas such as Boca Park near Charleston and Rampart boulevards, she added.
"That's one of the reasons all of the neighborhoods around Boca Park have been booming," Gunning said. "When people have a choice they are going to pick an area that has the most conveniences and services ... Who doesn't want to be in proximity to those kinds of shops?"
The unique location worked well in attracting sporting goods retailer Residential Equipment Inc.
REI is a Seattle-based chain that markets itself as a "lifestyle" retailer, catering to an outdoor crowd looking for high-quality equipment. It serves as one of the anchor tenants in the new development.
Dennis Madsen, REI's chief executive, said tracking the company's customer activity through Internet-based purchases and catalog sales made Henderson an easy choice.
"Henderson has the population and lifestyle that really desires the products we provide," Madsen said. "We certainly knew that based on the interaction we have had with those customers."
Jerry Chevassus, REI's vice president for real estate, said the presence of other specialty retailers -- along with a residential component -- should create a strong crowd of shoppers. That expected profile made zeroing in on The District similarly easy for the company.
"One thing that attracted us was the whole co-tenancy concept," Chevassus said. "It's going to attract the kind of demographic we are looking for."
He said the company has stores in a handful of other so-called lifestyle centers in places such as Oregon and Virginia and those stores are enjoying strong sales.
"Each one of those stores is off the charts," Chevassus said. "It works for us."
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