|
Feature Article, July 2006
The Village At Queensridge Takes “By Locals For Locals” Approach
New Las Vegas mixed-use development brings locals a much-needed place to live, shop and play.
Susan H. Fishman
 |
Queensridge will be developed at Rampart Boulevard and Alta Drive, at the edge of the master planned community of Summerlin in Clark County, Nevada. Photo courtesy of Development Design Group.
|
|
Las Vegas is about to get the first-of-its-kind “neighborhood” with a new mixed-use development that will give locals an alternative to the tourist-laden shopping destinations that permeate the city.
Situated at Rampart Boulevard and Alta Drive, at the edge of the master planned community of Summerlin in Clark County, The Village at Queensridge will feature more than 700,000 square feet of upscale retail, restaurant, entertainment and office space, as well as 340 world-class condominium homes. The 29-acre project was conceived in response to a lack of locale-specific destinations in Las Vegas.
“There’s a real demand for specialty retail and for somewhere to go in Vegas,” says Todd L. Good, marketing director for Executive Home Commercial, one of the partners involved in building The Village. “There’s no real sense of place. If you’re a local and you work on the strip, you don’t want to shop there and fight the 44 million-plus tourists that come into Vegas. You want to go somewhere in your neighborhood, and Vegas doesn’t really have a neighborhood place to go.”
 |
The developers of The Village at Queensridge, as well as its designer, Development Design Group, showcased the property’s model at the ICSC Spring 2006 Convention in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Development Design Group.
|
|
JMA Architecture Studios and Development Design Group, Inc. in coordination with Executive Home Builders, one of the premier builders in the valley, envisioned The Village at Queensridge as an old-world European town, complete with ruins, statues and stonework. The elegant materials, handcrafted detailing and colors (earth tones with bright accents typical of a European Mediterranean village) will evoke old-world architecture. To lend authenticity to The Village, and to create a “city built in stone,” the developers are incorporating limestone from their own quarries in Jerusalem, as well as Dolomite from Jordan and Alicante marble from Spain.
At the epicenter of the retail complex will be The Village Park, a plaza with fountains, benches and rich landscaping, which will provide a respite to residents and visitors alike. The grounds will also feature private sanctuaries, gardens, loggia, terraces, canopies and piazzas.
Developers are currently in negotiations with a number of premier restaurateurs and specialty boutique retail tenants at all different price points from all over the country. Tenants will include upscale men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and jewelry, as well as new concepts from popular merchandisers, such as a fashion designer’s store dedicated to home furnishings. The Village will also have a premium grocery store, cafes and restaurants, similar to Ocean Club for seafood, Spago for Italian and a sports bar with gourmet food done by a world-renowned chef.
 |
For The Village at Queensridge, the developers are incorporating limestone from their own quarries in Jerusalem, as well as Dolomite from Jordan and Alicante marble from Spain. Photo courtesy of Development Design Group.
|
|
“The idea is to build a village for the local community that will have top retailers and restaurateurs from around the world,” says Good. “We look to travel the country and pick different boutique type tenants that don’t have a place in Vegas yet.”
“We’re looking to create an experience that doesn’t exist in suburban Las Vegas right now,” adds Lisa Streidl, senior vice president, managing partner for Blatteis & Schnur, who is handling leasing for the project. “Right now, a lot of the residents who are very educated and well moneyed are having to travel to the strip for shopping and entertainment. They don’t have any of the amenities that people in other cities take for granted.”
Blatteis & Schnur recently announced its first deal with Master’s Ocean Club and is in negotiations with some specialty grocers. The company also has proposals out to some smaller format, better department stores, as well as Tommy Bahama.
“We’re talking to, and have a lot of interest from, all of the better mixed-use retailers,” Streidl says.
 |
An overview of The Village at Queensridge, a new project that will open in 2008 in the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin, Nevada. Photo courtesy of Development Design Group.
|
|
In addition to the 450,000 square feet of retail and restaurants at The Village will be 250,000 square feet of office space. There will also be three condominium towers, situated on the northern edge of The Village, comprised of two five-story buildings and a 10-story building, and offering views of the Las Vegas city lights as well as a panoramic view of the Red Rock Mountains.
With a total of 18 separate buildings, the $850 million project is headed for success, thanks to a premier location. Nearly 200,000 Clark County residents earn $100,000 or more annually, while more than 2,667 of its households report investable assets exceeding $1 million. Across the street from The Village is the Sun Coast Casino and the sister project to The Village, a custom, exclusive condominium home development called One Queensridge Place, which will begin turning over units priced between $1.3 and $20 million early next year.
“It’s on the edge of Summerlin, which has been the fastest growing master planned community in the country for the last five years,” Good says. “It was the last in-fill piece in the whole area.”
The Village at Queensridge is scheduled to be complete in 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.
|
