Technically, it’s not in Summerlin but on the western fringe of Las Vegas, but there will be a two-story Macy’s, encompassing 180,000 square feet, as part of Howard Hughes Corp.’s Shops at Summerlin, opening in two years and creating 160 jobs when finished. Said a Macy’s executive, "we will be tailoring our merchandise assortments of well-known brands to local customer needs," which is another of way of conveying that the product lines will be more practical and affordable than those featured at Macy’s Fashion Show Mall stores on the Strip. The retailer will also open a 201,000-square foot Macy’s Mens Store at Fashion Show Mall toward the middle of next year, assimilating roughly 50% of the space formerly occupied by Robinson’s-May.
Shops at Summerlin, a 1.5 million-square foot retail project is expected to resume construction in the autumn of 2013. The retail/office/hotel/condo complex was mothballed in 2008, as the Great Recession began to take hold and its steel skeleton has marred the view of the Red Rock escarpment ever since. Restarting Shops at Summerlin will create 1,700 construction jobs in the near term and 2,000 full-time jobs once the mall is finished. Hughes Corp. will save some money up front, $150 million in construction work having been done under a previous developer, General Growth Properties. It’s far too soon, however, to say whether this particular re-start is indeed the "game-changer" that Hughes Vice President for Master-Planned Communities Kevin Orrock proclaims it to be.
Retail demand in Las Vegas – where storefronts have a 10.5% vacancy rate – lags well behind the rest of the U.S. One of the biggest growth sectors has been thrift shops. Whether because they’re leaving town or have fallen on hard times, Las Vegans have flooded the market with secondhand goods, creating a wide niche for thrift stores ranging from the big-box Savers chain to the small and very selective Patty’s Closet franchises created by local entrepreneur Patty Barba – who recently entered the Portland, Ore., market as well. Used goods aren’t the only things locals are selling: One of East Tropicana Avenue’s newest storefronts is a collection center where you can sell your plasma … and we don’t mean as in "big-screen TV," if you catch our drift.
The most-positive omen for the Strip is that Hilton International has returned in force. It has taken control of 300 units at Trump International and signed an agreement to market the Tropicana under its Doubletree umbrella. But its highest-profile deal was taking charge of PH Towers Westgate, after the David Siegel condo high-rise flopped. It now flies the Hilton Grand Vacations flag, rebranded as Elara.
