Montecito begins work on $50 million shopping plaza

Jennifer Shubinski

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 | 11 a.m.

Montecito Cos. said it broke ground on the $50 million Montecito Marketplace in northwest Las Vegas and has plans for additional retail centers throughout the northern part of the valley.

Montecito Marketplace will be a 225,000-square-foot town-center-style shopping center development within the 330-acre Montecito Town Center at the northwest interchange of Interstate 215 and U.S. 95.

The development will include a Smith's Food & Drug, FedEx Kinko's, Starbucks, Wells Fargo and fashion retailers, said Nick Hannon, Montecito president of development.

The Smith's grocery store is expected to open in September, Hannon said.

Among the plans for the larger Montecito Town Center, include a 400-bed hospital to be developed by Universal Health Services Inc., Centennial Academy private school, two large neighborhoods, Montecito Crossing retail center co-developed with Phoenix-based Vertical Holdings, and 65 acres slated to be the site of Triple Five Nevada's The Great Mall of Las Vegas.

Also within the town center is Montecito Crossing retail center, which was recently completed, and the planned Montecito Medical Centre, Hannon said.

The 100,000-square-foot shopping center is at North Tenaya Way and I-215. Space across the street is still available for sale for retail or office sites, he said.

Grand Canyon Marketplace, located at the site of a planned freeway exchange off U.S. 95 and Horse Road in northwest Las Vegas, is a planned 250,000-square-foot retail center on 24 acres. The center is between Focus Property Group's master-planned communities Providence and Kyle Canyon.

The center will include a home improvement center and a grocery store, Hannon said. Construction is scheduled to begin after the interchange is complete, sometime in late 2006, he said.

Another project new to Montecito's drawing board is the 40,000-square-foot Russell Crossing, a neighborhood retail center at Russell Road and Grand Canyon Drive, near the southern edge of Summerlin.

Two other projects pull Montecito out of the northwest and into new territory -- North Las Vegas.

Cheyenne Pointe is a planned 80,000-square-foot retail shopping center at Interstate 15 and Cheyenne Avenue. The center is in the design stages, but Hannon envisions a development that is pedestrian friendly that will include an ethnic grocery store, a Starbucks, Quiznos, Family Dollar and Aaron Rents.

Construction on the $15 million center is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, Hannon said.

He said the development would be a boost to the neighborhood.

"There has been no new development in that area for many years; it's an overlooked opportunity," Hannon said.

Montecito also plans a mixed-use project in North Las Vegas that will include high-density multifamily housing and 326,000 square feet of commercial space. The center is planned for the northwest corner of Lamb Boulevard and Tropical Parkway. Montecito is expected to close escrow on the land in August, Hannon said.

In addition to its Southern Nevada projects, Montecito recently opened an office last month in Phoenix to pursue retail and land investments, he said.

"We think there's opportunity there," Hannon said.