Downtown Las Vegas appears to be well on its way to creating a successful shopping district. As new stores and retail opportunities open in and around the Arts District and Union Park -- including the Holsum Lofts and the World Market Center -- the area's first major retail outlet is about to grow again.
The Chelsea Property Group, which owns the Las Vegas Premium Outlets, has begun construction that will make room for about 30 new retailers.
The mall's expansion will cover the current parking lot area on the west side of the mall, and two parking garages will be added. Construction on the parking garages has already begun, and the entire project is expected to be complete by next fall.
"It's pretty exciting," said Michele Rothstein, spokeswoman for Chelsea Property Group. "We're under construction and we're building out toward the highway, so the buildings will actually fill a lot of the parking that you see right now."
The Chelsea Property Group opened the center in August 2003. At the time, the company also purchased the Belz Outlet, near Las Vegas Boulevard South and Warm Springs Road, and re-named it the Las Vegas Outlet Center.
Rothstein said the project represents Mayor Oscar Goodman's vision of expansion in downtown Las Vegas.
"We were the first tangible evidence to say, 'Yes, this is really going to happen,' " she said. "Then of course the (World Market Center opened) afterwards and other growth, so it's nice to have been the first in the ground, and we always felt very confident that the project would live up to our expectations."
Scott Adams, director of business development for Las Vegas, said the city is going for traditional retail in the arts district and Union Park areas of downtown. He said the mall's expansion is a positive sign in regard to retail development in the area.
"The Chelsea outlet mall has really proven that downtown works as a major retail center," Adams said.
He also said mall executives were skeptical about the location at first, though the property has performed well.
Rothstein said the Chelsea Property Group started exploring expansion options for the Las Vegas Premium Outlets about a year ago.
"Over the years, we looked at the response and how we feel we've carved a niche in a very exciting market that seems to be able to sustain growth, both from the casino level and so forth," she said. "We're very pleased with sales. There was more merchant demand, as well, so when you have the demand from the customer who likes what you're providing and you have merchants ... this was really an opportunity for us to bring more of what the customer likes to them and also provide opportunity (and) space for merchants that wanted to get into the project."
She said the mall serves a steady mix of local, national and international customers.
The extra 30 stores will bring the outlet's total retail space to more than 500,000 square feet. Rothstein said the Chelsea Property Group won't announce the stores planned for the expansion until closer to the opening date, but said they will be "similar to the positioning and brands that we have there now."
She also said that while the possibility that one or more of the new properties could be a restaurant, "right now, from the leasing perspective, the focus is on the outlet retailers."
Rothstein said the Chelsea Property Group has expanded malls in other markets in the past, including the Desert Hills Premium Outlets near Palm Springs, Calif.
"We've done this before, and our goal is that it doesn't feel like an afterthought, that it all meshes together nicely and people will just be able to walk through the area and explore all the stores," she said. "This is something that when you know you have a formula that's working in the market, all the stars are aligned, it's one that is the type of growth that we like to do."
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