In what was described at the time as "potentially a sign of confidence in Las Vegas," Fry’s Electronics plunked down a huge chunk of change for a Boca Park location in June 2011. The retailer took over the defunct Great Indoors building, paying $4.6 million for the underlying land and another $5 million to Great Indoors parent company Sears Roebuck for the building itself.
On top of that, Fry's was anticipated to spend between $3 million and $5 million converting Great Indoors into a mammoth (140,000-square-foot) Fry's superstore. The location was regarded as strategic for its proximity to both the affluent community of Summerlin and the still-in-progress Tivoli Village mall.
The deal itself paid significant dividends for Boca Fashion Village, which had been struggling with bankruptcy reorganization since 2008. "Before the closing of the sale, the agent for Boca Fashion Village’s secured lenders – Bank of America -- had been unwilling to engage in negotiations on a consensual plan of reorganization," reported the Las Vegas Sun. However, once it had Fry’s money in its pocket, Boca was able to negotiate from a position of strength.
Fry’s was, however, in no hurry to set up shop. On Jan. 1, 2013, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported "sounds of hammering" emanating from inside the old Great Indoors building. Fry’s Community Relations Manager Manuel Valerio defined the construction timeline as "as soon as possible," adding "you might presume that if all goes well, and we're fortunate and have no delays, perhaps [we'll open] sometime in 2013. But again, I cannot give you an exact time frame." Fry’s had spent $48,832 on construction but reporter Jan Hogan saw "no observable build-out."
Come December, reopening was still said to be at least a year away. "We’re hoping all that is resolved and they’re open by Christmas 2014," said Triple Five (owner of Boca Park) Vice President of Planning & Development James Grindstaff. It was another false prophecy. The R-J’s Hogan revisited the subject of Fry’s on Jan. 1, 2015, and reported that it was still "on hold."
"They're busy all day long, every day of the week," said Sambalatte Café owner Luiz Oliveira, back in early 2013. "That, with Tivoli Village opening up -- this whole area will see the synergy." But as 2015 draws to a close, they're still not seeing it yet – and may not for some time. We asked Fry’s when the Boca Park store would be opening and were told, "They’re not certain." So you may not have heard the last of it but progress, or the lack thereof to-date, doesn’t inspire confidence.
