FEATURE ARTICLE, MAY 2006

THE BIRTH OF A NEIGHBORHOOD IN LAS VEGAS
A new project promises to bring a sampling of New York City’s East Village to Las Vegas.
Randall Shearin

East Village Las Vegas will be a place where locals can relax and visitors can discover a different side of Las Vegas.

The founders of Eighth Wonder, Mark Advent and Mark Vlassopulos, prominent Las Vegas developers of mixed-use and casino resort developments, have formed a new company called Street Las Vegas, LLC, which includes Axon Capital, lead by Carol A. Colombo and Anthony A. Bonacci. In recent years, Mark Advent has changed the face of Las Vegas with his creation of the $475 million New York New York Hotel & Casino and now this development team looks to develop an urban neighborhood for both visitors and local Las Vegans. With a leasing team that includes seasoned real estate veterans Edward de Avila, founder of Core Retail Advisors, Andy Shedlin of The Andrew Shedlin Company, and CB Richard Ellis of Las Vegas, East Village plans to offer a gathering place for the region.

“There has never been a place for locals to mingle and interact,” says Zach Hussain, an associate with CB Richard Ellis’s Las Vegas office who is part of the leasing team. “People in general like city environments because they like getting together.”

When Advent was considering his next project after the opening of New York New York, he looked at what was missing in Las Vegas. It was the beginning of the announcements for the high rise explosion that is now taking place in the city (currently, there are a number of high rise condominium projects, some of which will contain smaller retail components, under planning or construction). Advent and Vlassopulos came across the site at the corner of Tropicana and Paradise and thought it was a prime spot for retail. Residents of Las Vegas for the past 16 years, the developers realized that there was a gap in the city: there was no neighborhood where residents could feel at home and where visitors could hang out away from the glitz and glamour of the Strip.

“The gap in the market was that there was no place to go — where you could wander from a coffee shop to a deli,” says Vlassopulos (who originally hails from London). “There’s no Covent Garden, SoHo, or Pike Street Market. There’s no place you can go and just hang out without an agenda. When you’re in Vegas on vacation, you want high energy at times but some want to just chill and relax too. But when you live in Vegas, you need a place to go without having plans or reservations. We need a place to decompress that feels familiar.”

Like its namesake — New York City’s East Village — East Village Las Vegas will be an invigorating environment that is real and authentic. 

“This project came about out of the demand in the marketplace to provide a stimulating shopping, dining and entertainment experience for locals as well a differentiated retail environment for visitors,” says Carol Colombo.

Residents avoid going to the Strip, says de Avila, and go there only out of need, not want. Las Vegas has a population that is growing at the rate of 7,000 people per month. The local condominium market — just adjacent to the East Village location — has 18,000 residences planned, entitled or under construction within a 2-block radius. This may be one of the most active neighborhood transformations in the country.

East Village Las Vegas sits on 44 acres at the corner of Tropicana Boulevard and Paradise Road, just opposite the entrance to McCarran International Airport. Virtually everyone who arrives or leaves through the airport will pass by the site. UNLV, Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion are located just east of the site. Events taking place at the Thomas and Mack Center — which number over 200 per year — combined with the university’s enrollment of 27,000, will also bolster East Village’s energy and traffic. East Village will offer nearly 1 million square feet of retail, restaurants, entertainment and banquet and conference facility, and loft offices. At the center of the project will be a Grand Public Market, similar to Pike Place Market in Seattle, that will be a regional draw. The market will have fresh food vendors who sell their goods daily to shoppers.

The developers are in negotiations with a number of iconic restaurants, which want to locate in Las Vegas, but prefer a location that appeals to both locals and visitors.

“We’re positioning East Village as an insider’s place, a place to hang out,” says de Avila. “We will offer an edgier tenant mix that has, in turn, expanded our tenant prospect base. Our goal is to draw the fashion conscious with new-to-the market stores and have culinary experiences that range from dining institutions to dives.”

An overview of the East Village Las Vegas project, which is being developed by Street Las Vegas, LLC. Slated to open in fall 2008, the $350 million development sits on 44 acres at the corner of Tropicana Boulevard and Paradise Road, just opposite the entrance to McCarran International Airport.

“We are trying to provide an experience for the consumer that gives them a sense of discovery,” says Shedlin. “We think this design really promotes that.”

The developers have committed 200,000 square feet of the project to create a nightlife district showcasing pubs, clubs and ultra lounges operated by a single entity. The developers anticipate venues like a jazz club, a sophisticated sports bar, a comedy club and multiple music venues as part of the nightlife district.

Andy Shedlin’s leasing efforts are complemented on the local level by Zack Hussain at CB Richard Ellis Las Vegas and the national level by managing directors Scott Kaplan and Todd Caruso, also of CB Richard Ellis. There is an additional 300,000 square feet of retail proposals in ongoing discussions. Ed de Avila is serving as the in-house lead for the leasing team and is pursuing the cutting edge tenants for the development. 

“We believe that East Village will offer an opportunity for both selected national tenants and progressive tenants who don’t want to locate on the strip because of economic, competitive and spacing issues,” says de Avila. “East Village will offer all tenants a special platform that doesn’t exist in Las Vegas. Similar to the warehouse districts of River North in Chicago, SoHo in New York and the SoMa district in San Francisco.”

“East Village is not seeking the predictable retailers that can be found everywhere. Instead, we are seeking tenants found on stimulating streets around the country.

The consumer looking for something new will be excited by East Village,” continues de Avila. For example, East Village recently executed a letter of intent with Parasuco, a Canadian clothing retailer that has nine stores in Montreal. Parasuco will open its first store in New York’s SoHo this month.

As far as national tenants go, Scott Kaplan says, “East Village will be very selective in choosing which ones it leases space to. The developers are committed to making the project distinctive.”

Particularly, with the restaurants, East Village is selectively targeting whom it brings into the project.

“With restaurants serving more as anchors today that ever before, it is particularly important, especially in a world class dining city like Las Vegas,” says Andy Shedlin.

“We are choosing our restaurants very carefully because we are committed to brining the best in culinary fare to Las Vegas, a city that embraces wonderful food and proven reputations,” says Mark Advent. “East Village is not about developing the ‘same old same old’ mix or the cookie cutter lifestyle center. We are bringing in restaurateurs who are completely new to the market with operators that we personally know, respect and believe in.”

Because of the proximity to the airport, the developers are planning to capture the tourist market that check out of their hotels before 11 a.m., yet don’t have a flight until later in the day. East Village Las Vegas will have an off-site McCarran International Airport check-in facility that will accept baggage and allow flight check-in at the center.

“Every great city has a stimulating urban destination to visit, discover and enjoy,” says de Avila. “In Las Vegas, East Village will be that destination.”

The $350 million East Village will open in fall 2008.

©2006 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.