Tuesday, March 23, 2004 | 11 a.m.
Developers of the first mixed-use "lifestyle" retail center in the Las Vegas area unveiled a new name and an interesting tenant mix today, with some of the stores opening for the first time in Henderson and others found nowhere else in Las Vegas.
American Nevada Company said plans are on schedule to open its mixed-use center, now called The District at Green Valley Ranch, that incorporates housing, office, retail and restaurants, in mid-April.
The center is adjacent to Green Valley Ranch Station Casino in Henderson and is called a mixed-use lifestyle center because it includes a residential component and incorporates a small-town, pedestrian-friendly, Main Street feel and design.
Plans to rent out 88 luxury residential lofts and flats, which are above the retail stores, are on hold while the company decides if it should instead sell the units.
American Nevada is owned by the Greenspun family, owner of the Las Vegas Sun.
"We're at 93 percent (leased retail space) right now, and we have a couple more leases out for signature, and we are very pleased with the amount of leasing and quality of the tenants, both retail and restaurant," said John Kilduff, president of American Nevada.
The name of the 400,000-square-foot, $80 million center was changed from The Shops at Green Valley Ranch to The District at Green Valley Ranch because the company wanted to better portray what the project was about, Kilduff said.
"We spent some time trying to pick a name that would depict what this project is, a 'Main Street' lifestyle project," he said.
Office space, totaling 25,000 square feet, is in the first building on the south side of the complex and residential units are in all three buildings on the north side of the complex, all above retail tenants. A stand-alone three-story, 65,000-square-foot office building is at the southeast corner of the center.
Among the stores that are unique to Southern Nevada and are to open at The District at Green Valley Ranch are Recreational Equipment Inc., or REI, women's clothier Coldwater Creek, national chain Anthropologie, which specializes in clothing and decorative home items inspired by other cultures, and a Fidelity Investments boutique for securities transactions and financial advisor meetings.
Some of the other retailers making their Henderson debut are women's clothing stores Ann Taylor Loft, J. Jill, Talbot's and White House/Black Market; and home goods stores Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Sharper Image.
While not scheduled to open anytime soon, American Nevada also is working on bringing a Whole Foods Market to Green Valley, Kilduff said. Preliminary plans call for the grocery store to be located across from the District on the east side of Green Valley Parkway, just south of Interstate 215, Kilduff said.
Whole Foods Market officials could not be reached for comment.
Bill Dunbar, principal of Sierra Commercial Advisors, said the District's tenant mix is good for the southeast part of the Las Vegas Valley.
"It is a good mix of the lifestyle retailers that needed to be in the south central part of the valley," said Dunbar, who specializes in leasing and developing retail space. "And in conjunction with Green Valley Ranch Station and (its) Regal (Cinemas), it should create good synergy within all of the properties."
Restaurants and bars at the center include Al's Garage, a gaming pub that will be open 24 hours; Panera Bread, Tacones (wraps and smoothies), Elephant Bar (with an expansive menu similar to the Cheesecake Factory), Kennedy Tavern, La Salsa and King's Fish House. In a stand-alone building just south of the restaurants will be Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que. P.F. Chang's China Bistro already has opened in a freestanding building east of the site.
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Ben & Jerry's also are slated for The District at Green Valley Ranch.
The District at Green Valley Ranch is meant to compliment Green Valley Ranch Station and the nearby neighborhoods. Kilduff said every effort was made to obtain a mix of retail and restaurants that would compliment the hotel-casino.
The Greenspun family is a partner with Stations Casinos Inc. in the hotel-casino.
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