Hispanic shoppers targeted by shops

One of the few new shopping centers in Las Vegas’ urban core will target the city’s burgeoning population of recent Hispanic immigrants.

Plaza Las Americas, under construction on Eastern Avenue between Bonanza Road and Mesquite Avenue, is part of a growing national trend of urban development that is conceived, built and leased with Hispanic consumers in mind.

The trend is moving Hispanic-oriented businesses to the center of urban economic revivals in areas that have struggled to attract investment.

In Las Vegas high land prices in suburban areas and a Hispanic population that is among the fastest-growing in the nation are fueling development of projects like the $12 million, 31,000-square-foot Plaza Las Americas and others.

“There is a huge influx of Hispanics coming to Las Vegas and that number continues to rise,” said Chrysanthe Georges, president of the Georges Marketing Group, which specializes in Hispanic marketing.

Georges said Hispanics already spend more than $10 billion annually in Nevada and make up about 25 percent of the population of the Las Vegas area.

But most Hispanic-oriented businesses, especially those in urban core areas, operate from older buildings that have to be modified to suit the needs of the business.

New developments built with Hispanic consumers in mind provide businesses an opportunity to do business in a professional environment that is close to their customers.

“They are frustrated with the old dilapidated buildings,” said Richard Crighton of RCS Development, which is building Plaza Las Americas.

“It is a little more in rent but they make more in a nicer shopping center,” Crighton said of businesses moving to the new center, which is 50 percent leased now and scheduled to open by year’s end.

In addition to a Western wear store, a travel agency and other businesses that have already leased space, the developers hope to attract a Hispanic grocery store, a restaurant or bar with gaming and a sandwich shop.

Georges said centers like Plaza Las Americas are especially appealing to new immigrants who haven’t fully adjusted to American-style shopping that often involves long drives and navigating massive big-box stores.

In contrast, many Hispanic immigrants are accustomed to more personal shopping experiences in small stores, even if it means going to several shops to make purchases.

In addition to stocking brands from immigrants’ home countries, smaller stores are likelier to have Spanish-speaking staff members who are familiar with immigrant lifestyles.

“They may not really know Target yet. They are going to be most comfortable having a retail experience similar to what they have in their own country,” Georges said of newly immigrated consumers. “As they become more acculturated they will venture into the big malls.”

The combination of an underserved market and rising suburban land prices should encourage more urban development, Crighton said.

“It was much easier in years past to buy land where the 215 (Las Vegas Beltway) was going,” he said of the decision to develop a shopping center in urban Las Vegas. “Now that land is so expensive we’ve had to go back into these areas and develop them.”