NLV Planning Commission OKs 2-year extension for shopping center

By Erin Dostal

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010 | 8:34 p.m.

The North Las Vegas Planning Commission unanimously approved a second extension of time for Las Flores, a downtown shopping center that was planned to break ground more than a year ago.

The reason for the request — the recession.

The extension will allow Montecito Commercial LLC, the developers of Las Flores, to begin building the development within the next two years, said Marc Jordan, planning manager for North Las Vegas. The property is owned by BJS Las Vegas, LLC.

“We think that the two years would be a little more buffer for us,” said Jennifer Lazovich, an attorney representing the property owner. “The good news is we still own the property.”

In a letter to the city, Joe P. Gwerder, senior vice president of engineering for Montecito, said, “As a result of the continued downward trend of the current economic conditions, tenants anticipated for the development have put the lease negotiations on hold to watch the market conditions and to stabilize the economic performance of their existing facilities.”

The city has not confirmed what anchor stores would occupy the largest spaces of the 352,200-square-foot retail center, Jordan said.

The center would be located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Hamilton Street. The development is planned to include three restaurant buildings of a combined 11,796 square feet and a 100,000-square-foot department store.

The center’s site plan falls within the redevelopment area of North Las Vegas. It is bounded by Pecos Road to the east, I-15 to the west, Cheyenne Avenue to the north and Owens Avenue to the south.

The retail center would be a key component of the city’s redevelopment plan because it would bring significant retail space to the downtown area, said Frank Fiori, director of community development.

Private investment from developers like Montecito will be a core component of redeveloping downtown.

The city’s downtown master plan, approved earlier this year, envisions a downtown North Las Vegas that is a destination within the valley. Fiori said city officials ultimately hope to make the area pedestrian friendly and full of retail stores.