New Howard Hughes office campus to open in southwest valley

Another new office project is set to open in southwest Las Vegas next year.

The Meridian campus developed by Howard Hughes Holdings will contain two 3-story office buildings, totalling about 147,000 square square feet, connected by a shared lobby. The buildings are set to open in January. The Meridian campus is adjacent to the 215 Beltway on Town Center Drive.

Although no tenants have been announced for the Meridian campus, the new construction and location of the Meridian should make it fill up quickly, said Charles Van Geel, senior director of Cushman & Wakefield, which is handling leasing activities for Howard Hughes Holdings’ office operations in Summerlin.

“You can’t help but notice the attractive mountain views in one direction, the cityscape in the other direction yet you’re still in the renowned Summerlin community that has green spaces, great schools seamlessly connected with the valley’s transit infrastructure,” Van Geel said.

Being near the 215 Beltway is key for the Meridian as companies continue to express interest in having an in-person work environment for employees and want to make it easy to commute to an office, said Amy Lance, a director for Cushman & Wakefield.

“We’re really hearing from companies who want their employees back,” she said. “I mean they may give them the option to work from home one to two days a week, but I think that’s going to change in the future.”

According to a third-quarter report from Cushman & Wakefield, the valley’s office space is 13.5 percent vacant. This vacancy rate is above the five-year quarterly average of 12 percent.

Despite this, Van Geel said he isn’t worried Meridian will be impacted by higher that usual office vacancy.

“There is a flight to the suburbs,” he said. “Employees have a little say in the discussion today and that’s where most of our newer products are situated as well.”

“(The southwest is) one of the few areas of a market where people don’t mind making the commute,” Van Geel added.

And there does seem to be more demand for office space in the southwest valley as the average asking rent of $31.09 per square foot is the highest in region, according to the Cushman & Wakefield report. The average asking rent in Las Vegas is $26.96.

The office vacancy rate for the submarket also is lower than the region, at 9.7 percent, the report stated.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.