Big plans in store for Premium Outlets

Jennifer Shubinski

Friday, April 21, 2006 | 7:18 a.m.

If you think parking is difficult to find at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets now, just wait until the retail center expands its space by more than 20 percent.

Chelsea Property Group, a division of Simon Property Group, confirmed that it will add 100,000 square feet to the outdoor outlet center - making it among the largest in the country.

Las Vegas Premium Outlets opened to much fanfare almost three years ago. Las Vegas was pushing it as a catalyst for downtown, and Chelsea was hoping it would attract locals as well as tourists.

Today locals fight over parking spots and tourists are dropped off by the busload at the center, just off Charleston Boulevard and Interstate 15, across from the Clark County Government Center.

"It has exceeded everybody's expectations," said Michele Rothstein, spokeswoman for Chelsea. "Good response from the consumer does cause tenant demand, and now more merchants want to join the center."

The center's success did not surprise George Connor, senior vice president of Colliers International retail division.

"Shopping is a form of entertainment in Las Vegas," he said. "It's something to do while in Las Vegas, and to that degree it ties in to what tourists are looking for."

The outlet center is currently 435,000 square feet with 120 stores, many of them high-end retailers such as Armani Exchange, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Guess, Izod, Lacoste and Coach.

The names of the stores that will be part of the expansion was not released, but the additions will be in line with the current tenant makeup of designer retailers, Rothstein said.

The expansion's design and construction timetable also are yet to be determined, she said.

The expansion is likely to occur around the existing shopping center on land now used for parking. That will put even more pressure on parking, already in such demand on weekends that shoppers often park across the street at the County Government Center, much to the displeasure of county officials.

Rothstein said the parking issue would be taken into consideration, but details on precisely how will not come until an official announcement of the expansion, when the center's new footprint will be unveiled.

"We recognize that with more stores comes more people and the need for more parking," she said.

The center's aggressive marketing campaign, mainly to tourists, its ease of access off the interstate and free shuttles from casino properties have helped fuel its success, said John Restrepo, principal of Restrepo Consulting Group LLC.

Development around the mall, including the gargantuan World Market Center, also has driven traffic, as has the resurgence in downtown's popularity, he said.

"It was a big question mark at the time; downtown was not a popular venue," he said. "As more activity has occurred down there, everything has helped it along."

Chelsea also owns the Las Vegas Outlet Center at Las Vegas Boulevard and Warm Springs Road. The company bought that center the day it opened its Las Vegas Premium Outlets in August 2003.