One shopping center is in foreclosure, second expands

One shopping center on Las Vegas Boulevard faces foreclosure, while another is moving ahead with expansion during the recession.

Deutsche Bank has initiated foreclosure proceedings against Town Square, the 93-acre shopping center that is a Turnberry Associates and Centra Properties development.

The initial $520 million in construction financing was provided principally by Deutsche Bank.

In a lawsuit filed in February 2009, the Town Square developers said bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers failed to provide long-term financing for the project as promised.

“This is something that we have been fully aware of and anticipated. Active negotiations continue with Town Square lenders regarding the outcome of the foreclosure,” Mario Romine, general counsel for Turnberry Associates, said in a statement.

Turnberry Associates will continue to manage Town Square, and the proceeding will have no effect on the center’s operation, Romine said. It opened in November 2007.

Town Square’s 900,000 square feet of retail space is more than 90 percent leased, it announced. Only 55,000 square feet of its 300,000 square feet of office space is leased. Town Square reports it’s in negotiations to lease 70,000 square feet of office space.

The center can be built out to 1.5 million square feet.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas Outlet Center said it’s expanding by 70,000 square feet and 11 new stores to bring its total to 140 stores. The expansion by the Simon Property Group center is expected to be completed by spring. The cost of the expansion hasn’t been disclosed.

White Paper on education

The Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies held its annual round table last week and will write a white paper on education.

About 80 business leaders, local and state politicians and educators met to produce a report on how education relates to the economy and what can be done to improve the educational system.

“I would say everyone in the room was in agreement that with education — in particular college-level education — that Nevada has to figure out how to fund UNLV, not only undergraduate but graduate work, because that is key to getting companies to move here,” said Patty Nooney, local managing director of CB Richard Ellis, who participated in the discussion. “You have to have an educated workforce and training dollars available for companies to feel this is a good community for them to move into.”

The report is expected to be released by the end of the year.

In other news

• Montreal-based hospitality industry furniture manufacture Foliot Furniture has hired more than 100 employees and will hire 300 more as part of its entry into Las Vegas. Foliot has a new 300,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and 6,000-square-foot showroom. The company specializes in furnishings for the hospitality, college, university and military housing markets.

• The Walmart at 5200 S. Fort Apache Road celebrated its grand reopening Aug. 19, providing a glimpse of the Arkansas-based company’s next generation of store design. The remodel took three months and the new layout included wider aisles, low-profile shelving, a brighter interior paint scheme, enhanced lighting and easier-to-read signs.

• Colliers International Las Vegas has added an assets resolutions division specializing in restoring and enhancing the value of underperforming and nonperforming assets. The division is led by Chris LoBello, former regional manager of Marcus & Millichap.

• Brokerage NAI Las Vegas has entered into a partnership with the Sauter Cos. to merge staff and services and operate as NAI Las Vegas. Sauter, based in Summerlin, was founded in 1988 and is an investment brokerage firm that has handled more than $1 billion in multifamily transactions over the past decade. Under terms of the merger, Sauter will operate as the Summerlin branch of NAI Las Vegas, said Art Carli, executive managing director.

• The Presidents Council of Southern Nevada real estate and facilities association has been launched to address legislative efforts and address concerns of the nine organizations that are members: Building Owners and Managers Association of Nevada; Commercial Alliance Las Vegas; Southern Nevada CCIM (commercial real estate) chapter; Commercial Marketing Group; Commercial Real Estate Women; International Facilities Management Association; Institute of Real Estate Management; Nevada Professional Facility Managers Association; and U.S. Green Building Council.

• The Nevada law firm Atkinson & Watkins has moved to the Marnell Corporate Center. The law firm will take up 2,051 square feet in the five-story No. 5 building at the complex.

• Casual Male Retail Group has opened its first Destination XL men’s store catering to big and tall men. The store opened this month at 4211 Paradise Road, south of Flamingo Road next to P.F. Chang’s. The building had been occupied by a golf superstore.

• The Commercial Alliance Las Vegas will hold its fifth annual symposium Oct. 22 at the Gold Coast. The symposium for commercial real estate professionals will feature Mark Dotzour, a real estate instructor at Texas A&M University. He will give a class on global and national economic trends and the outlook for the commercial real estate industry. Classes run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registration fees range from $25 for lunch to $89 for the entire day. For more information, call 784-5050.