Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Build it and they will come

Pam Howatt often flies to her favorite mall in Scottsdale, Ariz., to shop.

"It has beautiful gardens, beautiful restaurants," says the IGT events planning manager. "It has a wonderful vintage market with gourmet foods, a fabulous selection of wines, a high-end deli."

When she breaks from browsing, she can "sit down and be served for lunch."

"For those of us who truly like to shop, it becomes an experience," she says.

But she has to go out of state to find it.

Enter the Galleria at Sunset, the latest of the valley's malls and Henderson's first, opening Feb. 28.

Mall officials bill it as Henderson's "own regional shopping center, which will feature fashion, top-quality service geared to shopper comfort, and architectural detail that will provide a great atmosphere in which to eat, shop and be entertained ... an experience for visitors."

Kathy Ochs, a Henderson homemaker with two children, is "absolutely looking forward to shopping at the Galleria."

"I have been watching the progress, driving by on a regular basis," she says.

Others, like Howatt, view it as run of the mill -- "just another complement of stores."

Nothing more. Nothing less.

After more than seven years of waiting for the promised mall, it's anticlimactic, she says.

"If it was something spectacular, it would have been worth it. But it's like everything we already have -- not anything I am going to get excited about."

Though happy about the prospect of a mall for Henderson, other locals given to the shopping gene have a similar ho-hum response.

"It's really needed," says Deborah Perlman, artist and mother of two. "Geographically, it's the perfect place.

"But other than location, I expect a little more from malls. It sounds like another middle-of-the-roader.

"Will it only serve average needs? Or will it razzle-dazzle us?

"In Vegas, we really do have major expectations. What better place to bring the spectacular into a mall setting?" she asks.

"I want more than just a place to buy something. I want a multisensory experience."

Like the light show above Fremont Street or the Roman statues at The Forum Shops at Caesars, she says.

"I love to shop at The Forum. It's got good visuals and textures and a side show for tourists. It illustrates the things that can be done."

Hoping to capture local shoppers, Galleria Mall officials boast "a modern, open Southwestern motif, skylights and an abundance of adoquin de cantera, a natural terra cotta stone quarried in Mexico and the signature building block of the center."

Yet chichi interiors aren't the only thing local shoppers want.

Nordstrom's would be divine.

Rumors have stirred for months that the ultimate in retail service and merchandise would be coming to Southern Nevada. But Galleria officials are saying Nordstrom's won't fill the space set aside for a "future department store."

"I thought because of Las Vegas' size, it might be time for them to come in." says Ginny LeMay, a Henderson retiree. "I'm disappointed."

Ditto for Patty Coll, a Las Vegas homemaker. "I go to LA just for Nordstrom's," she says.

If it came into the mall, everyone from throughout the valley -- not just Henderson -- would go there, she predicts.

Shoppers want boutiques, too. "Something different and unique" has become their mantra.

"I haven't seen anything that is me (in Las Vegas)," LeMay says. "It's hard to define, but you know it when you see it. San Francisco, even Phoenix -- they're different. In Dallas, I've seen different clothing lines and styles."

Chris Querrey, mother of two who runs a word-processing business from her home, moved to Henderson from Santa Rosa, Calif., where "specialty stores and boutiques carry one-of-a-kind items.

"There was a stationery store that did custom calligraphy invitations, a tennis clothing store that strung tennis rackets and a store that sold clothing made from natural fibers," she recalls.

"I feel like everything in Vegas is a chain."

There's no "artsy stuff," Howatt says. "We miss places like San Francisco and San Diego, where there are street vendors and music. Here everything is so commercial."

And she's "tired of seeing the same stuff in every single store and on every single person."

That, along with an outdoor shopping experience, is why she makes those Scottsdale expeditions.

"I would love to see more outdoor places to shop. You see outdoor shopping in Phoenix and Scottsdale, and they get as hot as we do," Howatt says.

Restaurant rut

Querrey recalls her favorite Northern California shopping centers. "There were beautiful plants, a kids' play area, partly open-air, partly enclosed.

"I think people here get really accustomed to indoors. But what about an option, like a terrace outside?"

And she would like to go to restaurants throughout the mall, "as opposed to sitting in a food court with the masses."

"It would be nice if it weren't so fast-foodish," she says.

"How about Spago or California Pizza Kitchen -- that would be great. Or Morton's (Steakhouse)?"

While those restaurants are located at other Vegas malls, they're not slated for the Galleria.

But along with food-court fare such as Cinnabon and Dairy Queen, two restaurants are included in the mall's lineup: Java Centrale, a cafe, and Trilussa, an Italian restaurant.

The drive to shop

Complaints about lunching and environment aside, local shop-aholics plan to frequent the new mall.

Howatt's southeast offices are conveniently nearby.

"It's a place for me to shop from work without having to drive to the outlet malls, which are already tired," she says.

From her home on the west side of town, she probably won't drive the distance, she says.

But for Ochs, "It's minutes away. There has really been no shopping out here per se."

"I won't have to go to other malls to shop unless I am on the other side of town already," she says.

Querrey, too, likes the minutes-from-home proximity. Especially for the basic items at Mervyn's. "I don't want to drive far for a pair of socks.

"My bases are covered. There's nothing that the Boulevard (Mall) offers that this one won't."

'Sweet spot'

Susan Murtagh, president of Southern Nevada Home Builders Auxiliary and Henderson resident, says, "It's like life has come to this area.

"It'll be especially nice around the holidays, when we'll spread the shopping throughout the valley."

Perlman calls the Galleria location a "sweet spot" -- with other major chains a stone's throw away.

"On three of the four corners is all kinds of shopping. It's so there geographically."

She anticipates a typical shopping trip. "What I don't find at the mall, I'll find at Target. Then I'll go to Learning Is Fun (which sells educational tools for parents and teachers), and then I'll go get groceries -- all in one big loop."

And expressway accessibility at Sunset Road makes the mall doubly desirable, she says.

The Galleria might even be attractive to those who look upon mall-shopping as a chore.

"My husband hates shopping," Murtagh says. "But the Galleria is so close. Now he'll be able to run in and out really fast."

archive