Wynn Resorts’ creative arm moving to new building in Summerlin

The developer of a new office building next to Las Vegas Ballpark has unveiled its first tenant: casino operator Wynn Resorts’ creative arm.

The Howard Hughes Corp. announced Thursday that Wynn Design & Development signed a lease for 38,800 square feet in the 10-story steel-frame office building under construction in Summerlin’s commercial core off Sahara Avenue and the 215 Beltway.

Known as 1700 Pavilion, the building is scheduled to be finished in the fourth quarter of next year, according to Hughes Corp.

It previously said the upscale project, at 1700 S. Pavilion Center Drive, would cost an estimated $120.4 million.

Wynn is taking the entire top floor and a large portion of the ninth floor, said Kevin Orrock, Las Vegas regional president for Hughes Corp.

He also said that Wynn’s name would be at the top of the building and that its lease would be a “catalyst” for other firms to eye space there.

Employers closed offices around the world last year over fears of the coronavirus outbreak, sparking discussions about how much space firms really needed as staffers worked from their couch, kitchen table or in-home office.

Many people are still working from home, though developers are pushing ahead with new office projects in Las Vegas and companies have been leasing space.

Overall, the Las Vegas Valley saw more than 1.5 million square feet in office leasing activity this year through September, brokerage CBRE Group reported.

Some workers are happy to stay home, but others need to be around other people, Orrock said.

“It’s hard to have any type of company culture working from home,” he said.

Todd-Avery Lenahan, president and chief creative officer at Wynn Design, said in a news release that more than 70 percent of its staff lives on the west side of the valley.

Its new location, in a “dynamic mixed-use area,” will reduce its collective commuting by more than 160,000 miles annually, he said.

According to the release, Wynn Design is the Las Vegas casino operator’s creative arm and is “responsible for envisioning the company’s future.”

A Wynn Resorts spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment, including on Wynn Design’s responsibilities and where it is currently based.

Spanning 22,500 acres along the valley’s western rim, the Summerlin master-planned community boasts 100,000-plus residents and commands some of the highest home and land prices in Southern Nevada.

Texas-based Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin, sells land there to homebuilders and has constructed hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects in its commercial core.

Hughes Corp. developed the 10,000-fan capacity ballpark and owns the minor-league team that plays there, the Las Vegas Aviators.

The stadium is near several other Hughes Corp. developments, including the 106-acre open-air Downtown Summerlin mall, a six-story office building, and the 267-unit Tanager apartment complex, whose second phase, the 295-unit Tanager Echo, is currently under construction.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.