Developer to use bit of Italy, timing, optimism in new projects

If you’ve been to Milan, you’ve doubtlessly been to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, maybe even seen the famous mosaic of the bull and stepped on his testicles, not for meanness, but for good luck.

The glass-domed shopping mall was finished in 1877 and named after the first king of unified Italy. The roof of glass and cast iron has been emulated elsewhere, including the Bellagio Conservatory, on a smaller scale.

Now, Las Vegas is going to have its own enclosed mall version of Milan’s architectural delight.

“The Las Vegas Renaissance will be part of the renaissance of Las Vegas,” says Frank Pankratz, president of EHB Cos., a man of enthusiasm and optimism.

The Las Vegas Renaissance will be south of Tivoli Village at the intersection of Alta Drive and Rampart Boulevard and will be developed by the same people who are creating Tivoli Village.

EHB and IDB Group USA purchased the 23-acre parcel for $11.75 million in October from a bank that foreclosed on the land owned by Triple Five Development, developers of Boca Park further south.

The plan is to have a pedestrian walkway over Alta Drive, linking the two projects. The two companies also developed One Queensridge Place across the road, twin towers of 219 luxury condos.

The EHB-IDB partnership now controls three of the four corners at the intersection of Rampart and Alta. IDB is a subsidiary of IDB Development Corp., an Israeli-based group with assets in the $30 billion plus range. IDB has invested more heavily in Las Vegas than any other site in the United States, Pankratz said.

At an estimated cost of $350 million, Renaissance will be slightly smaller than Tivoli, the subject of my Thursday column. It will boast 785,000 square feet when it’s built out. Renaissance will be 770,000 square feet.

The proposal goes before the Las Vegas Planning Commission on May 10 and the City Council on June 15. Renaissance would have three major anchors, plus smaller commercial operations, and between 80 to 100 condos aimed at people who work in the area and want to walk to work.

But there’s more.

Last January, EHB and IDB bought another 60 acres in Centennial Hills, planning for another themed mixed-use development. Triple Five had planned a $750 million mall on the site near the Las Vegas Beltway and U.S. 95, but defaulted on the loan. The EHB-IDB partnership bought the 60 acres for $6.3 million from a bank.

“We felt it was a great price, a great opportunity and a great part of town. There’s a lot there already, like Lowe’s and Home Depot and Sam’s Club,” Pankratz said. “In those places, you have a single purpose, you grab it and you leave. What we envision for that property is to become the heart of that area. We want to create an ambiance where you stay. We’d do something that had a strong theme, a festive feel, certainly visual as well as functional.”

Pankratz is bullish on Tivoli, Renaissance and the Centennial Hills site.

“We believe we’ve been through the worst, we’ve survived it and we believe our timing is excellent,” he said, referring to the partial opening of Tivoli Village on April 28. “We think that as a result of the economic hardship that people will migrate and will be attracted to this type of offering. It’s new and fresh with art, culture and fun. Something for everyone.”

He’s hoping Renaissance could open by 2015, while there’s no start date for the Centennial Hills project.

Until then, my Centennial Hills pals will have to meet me at Tivoli Village, soon to be my historic hangout, where we can toast to development that’s forging ahead, instead of stalled or dead.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.