Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | 11:01 a.m.
Industry veterans at this year's installment of the International Council of Shopping Centers convention found themselves struggling to find a quiet place to talk business.
The Las Vegas Convention Center was packed with attendees. A few logistical challenges, however, drew more smiles than frustration.
"That means business is good," said Rebecca Hall, a public relations executive representing several real estate companies at the convention.
A strong showing for the retail industry gathering is often seen as a direct reflection on the current economic climate. When the economy is soft, there's little trouble finding an open chair, said Karen Kennedy, managing director of portfolio management for SCI Real Estate Investments.
"I can remember some years when you could bowl down the isles," Kennedy said.
There was little room for bowling on Monday, the convention's first full day.
Instead, retailers were checking out the latest in shopping center and mall plans from the nation's leading developers. Some of the biggest crowds were examining the model for Town Square Las Vegas, a 1.5 million-square-foot, open-air "lifestyle center" scheduled to begin construction this month at the intersection of I-15 and I-215.
The project -- a partnership between Florida-based Turnberry Associates and Las Vegas-based Centra Properties -- was unveiled a year ago at ICSC. This year, however, the project has 80 percent of the space committed to tenants, said Jim Stuart, principal with Centra.
The list of tenants at Town Square includes a bowling alley, a movie theater and retailers such as Lucky Brand, Abercrombie & Fitch, Kenneth Cole, Chico's, Bath & Body Works, Hollister and Solstice. In total, Town Square will house 150 retailers.
Among the 12 restaurants will be Yardhouse, Texas de Brazil, Sapporo, Bice Ristorante, Salt Creek Grill, Claim Jumper and Sushi Siam.
Town Square also will include a 230-room luxury hotel owned and operated by Turnberry and 200,000 square feet of office space.
Stuart said the $400 million development will be designed as a gathering place for Las Vegas residents with $16 million in landscaping and a $5 million children's play area. The development also will be situated around a large "Central Park-type" area that will feature concerts and festivals.
"This is built at a scale not duplicated in the valley," Stuart said. "This project evolved from consumer demand, not because real estate people are great thinkers."
With that in mind, the developers said the changing demographic of Las Vegas was kept in mind when tenants were lined up for the project, Stuart said, pointing to a rising cost of living with greater chunks of income going to mortgage and rent payments.
"A project like this, or for that matter any meaningful project, lives and dies by that (tenant mix)," Stuart said. "Here it's all in one place, from main stream like Old Navy to the high-end, fashion forward. We've tried to provide such a broad array of offerings that everyone can find a reason to be here."
Other developers continue to look at Las Vegas offerings.
Triple Five Nevada Development Corp. continues to tout its Great Mall of Las Vegas project at ICSC.
The 2 million-square-foot mall is planned for the northwest section of the valley, near the southwest corner of U.S. 95 and the Las Vegas Beltway.
Information at the Triple Five's ICSC booth indicate that tenants will include mall regulars, such as Robinsons-May, Dillards, J.C. Penney, Sears and Regal Cinemas.
General Growth Properties also continues to tout its long-discussed Summerlin Centre mall. While few details were available on Monday, the company -- which controls about half of the mall space in Las Vegas after the 2004 purchase of The Rouse Co. -- continues to list the Summerlin project among its future plans.
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