Rare Retail on Las Vegas Strip Trades Hands

There is ferocious investor appetite when retail products on the iconic Las Vegas Strip come to market. While it is rare to see retail properties on the Las Vegas Strip trade hands, Passco Cos.’s recent disposition of Silver City Plaza, a 41,583-square-foot retail center on the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, illustrates the strong demand and pricing when these properties come to market.

Passco sold the retail property to Regal Acquisitions for $59.25 million, closing out a more than 15-year business plan on the asset. “Owning the asset since 2004, Passco has witnessed the significant evolution of the north end of the strip,” Rob Ippolito, senior managing director of Newmark Knight Frank’s capital markets group, tells GlobeSt.com. “With the property now serving as the epicenter of more than $10 billion of new development, Passco believed it was the right time both from a market and property level perspective to capitalize on this extreme growth.” Ippolito represented Passco in the deal along with executive managing director Frank Volk.

Retail assets located on The Strip are popular largely because of the globally-recognized location and strong year-round tourism. “The Las Vegas strip is iconic for all the obvious reasons,” says Ippolito. “What makes The Strip unique is the continued growth and development.  The demand for entertainment, retail and hospitality continues to be high thus placing a premium on all things  The Strip.  The interest we experienced from the buying community was as strong as we’ve seen in recent past.”

Of course, these opportunities are rare and will only continue to become more unusual as the market grows and more development is completed on The Strip. “The opportunity to acquire almost two acres on Las Vegas Blvd. is rare and does not present itself very often,” says Ippolito. “Las Vegas retail has been extremely resilient in the past twenty four to thirty six months. “We’ve experienced strong demand on all offerings as investors understand Las Vegas is not only The Strip, but also a thriving city with multiple economic drivers.”

In 2020, Ippolito expects retail assets on The Strip to continue to garner top pricing. “We expect much of the same,” says Ippolito. “Well located retail with performing tenants will continue to be received well by the investment community.”