North Las Vegas uses show to make pitch to merchants

As host community for the International Council of Shopping Centers conference, Sin City gets top billing at the biggest wheeling-and-dealing event of the year for retail developers and landowners.

But leaders and developers in the other Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, are hoping to make some deals of their own that would bring more business to that burgeoning community.

Jose de Jesus Legaspi said he’s close to closing a deal with a big-box electronics retailer to anchor the Las Flores shopping center on 32 acres of vacant land at Las Vegas Boulevard and Hamilton Street in the North Las Vegas redevelopment area.

Legaspi wouldn’t identify the retailer, but he said it will be a 100,000-square-foot store that specializes in electronics, furniture and appliances.

He’s also trying to nail down clothing and other retail tenants to complement the electronics store and a 40,000-square-foot entertainment complex at what will be a Hispanic-oriented lifestyle center-type mall.

“We’ve been working very hard and feverishly creating the tenancy,” Legaspi said of his attendance at the retail conference.

He said mall developers typically identify tenants before closing big land deals. But his company closed quickly on the Las Flores land and is hoping to develop and lease the mall soon enough that it can be open within 18 to 24 months.

Legaspi, whose company is based in Los Angeles, said Las Flores will draw mostly local traffic but will also be a regional destination.

“We’ve had tremendous reaction from retailers,” he said.

Las Flores won’t be the only activity in North Las Vegas. Larry Bender, manager of the city’s redevelopment division, is using the conference to raise the community’s profile among retailers.

“We come to this show every year,” said Bender, who said the event is an opportunity to build long-term relationships with the business community. “Today is not going to pay off for another year or two.”

He said businesses opening in places like Henderson and Summerlin aren’t fully aware of the economic potential in North Las Vegas.

Since 1996, the population increased from about 80,000 to more than 202,000. It is projected to pass 521,000 by 2025, according to the city. That makes North Las Vegas an appealing location, especially for businesses that already have multiple outlets in the Las Vegas Valley, he said.

To lure business, the city offers incentives for facade enhancement and will even contribute to projects, provided the business owner is putting up the vast majority of the money, Bender said.

“Our population growth has been spectacular,” Bender said. “But the retail and the restaurants haven’t responded.”

Two other mall projects also are on the boards for North Las Vegas.

Michigan-based Celebration Centers of America is planning a 160-acre development with 1.1 million square feet of retail and 600 attached housing units at North Fifth Street and Craig Road. Former Horseshoe owner Jack Binion is planning a 120-acre mixed-use project with more than 2 million square feet of retail space, at least 2,000 residential units and a nongaming hotel at Centennial Parkway and Losee Road.