An $850M Strategy Not for Tourists

LAS VEGAS-Leasing has begun for Village at Queensridge, an $850-million mixed-use development by the Peccole Family and Executive Home Builders that has been designed as a place to live, work and play for locals, not tourists. The 30-acre development at Rampart Boulevard and Alta Drive will have 700,000 sf of upscale retail, restaurant, entertainment and office space along with 340 high-end condominium homes.

The commercial space will be housed in 15 buildings ranging from one to four stories, with the multilevel buildings typically housing office or residential space above street-level retail. The retail and restaurant space will total 450,000 sf, with the remainder being office space. All but 40 units of the residential will be housed in one 10-story building and two five-story buildings located at the northern edge of the Village, overlooking the Badlands Golf Course.

Infrastructure work at the site began in late 2005. Completion is slated for 2008. The firms charged with filling up the retail and restaurant space are Blattis & Schur, Village Partners Inc. and Restaurant Expansion Group.

EHB executive vice president Eli Applebaum is not ready to name the retailers expressing interest in having storefronts in the development. He did, however, talk in generalities about the type of retailers that will be a part of the development, and says “considerable” interest is being shown not only by local and regional operators but also national and international retailers.

“The issue with Las Vegas is that it’s a city growing by leaps and bounds but, unlike most American cities, Vegas doesn’t have traditional neighborhoods or community meeting places,” says Applebaum, a 20-year Las Vegas resident. “There is nothing for locals with a soul or a sense of place. The Strip attracted all the creativity, but soon the locals will have something special and unique, too.”

As part of a plan to create a place that invites people to linger, Applebaum says there will be an onsite bakery (“We want the delicious aromas and the nostalgias those evoke,” he says), a posh boutique will sit alongside a book shop (“Like a real city would have,” he says), and there will be a variety of dining choices, from high-end to moderate (“The people working at their offices during the day should be able to grab a slice of pizza, or order Chinese take-out,” he says).

Other retailers will include upscale men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and jewelry, but also new concepts from popular merchandisers, such as a fashion designer’s store dedicated to home furnishings. The Village also will have a premium grocery store, cafes and restaurants: “We’ve attracted national chains as well as major chefs,” Applebaum says. “We will have the equivalent of Ocean Club for seafood, and we are also bringing in something Las Vegas is missing: a sports bar with gourmet food, done by a world renowned chef.”

At the center of the retail complex will be a plaza with fountains, benches and landscaping. Private sanctuaries, gardens, loggia, terraces, canopies and piazzas will dot the grounds. “The whole Village will be a pedestrian friendly, park-like environment; you will feel like you are strolling down the streets of Italy,” says Neil Breen of JMA Architecture Studios, which collaborated on the design with Development Design Group.

Indeed, the theme is an old-world European town built over millenniums, with ruins, statues and stonework, including limestone from Jerusalem, Dolomite from Jordan and Alicante marble from Spain. “The Village will look not as if it popped up overnight but rather has evolved, therefore the architectural styles will not be the same throughout,” Breen says.

The land for the development has been in the Peccole family since 1949, when William Peccole traded 15,000 acres in Northern Nevada for 3,000 acres in Las Vegas. Much of the other land has been developed with other master-planned communities and associates golf courses, including Queensridge, the European-themed gated community adjacent to the Village property; Canyon Gate, a residential golf and tennis country club; and Peccole Ranch, a master-planned community including restaurants, offices, medical facilities and a library.

The land for Village at Queensridge is the last large Peccole parcel to be developed in part due to the wash that runs through it. The wash is being redirected into an underground culvert, making room for a 3,500-slip underground parking garage.

Much of the equity for the project will come from the value of the land. Equity also is being provided by IDB Development Corp., the largest holding company in Israel, according to published reports. IDB’s holdings include Supersol and Cellcom, Israel’s largest retail chain and cell phone operator, respectively, and PBC, one of the country’s largest real estate companies.