EJM Launching Retail Phase of Nearly 5M-SF Project

LAS VEGAS-EJM Development Co. of Los Angeles is close to launching the first retail phase of Arroyo, a 450-acre development straddling I-215 immediately west of Rainbow Boulevard that is planned for 4.5 million sf of office, retail and industrial space. The 940,000-sf Arroyo Market Square power center will rise southwest of the intersection of I-215 and Rainbow Boulevard.

EJM regional director Kirk Boylston tells GlobeSt.com that Arroyo Market Square is 95% preleased. Construction is slated to begin in the next 60 days. Completion is scheduled for the second quarter of 2007.

Situated between the Henderson and Summerlin residential communities, the overall Arroyo development will have about 1.5 million sf of retail, including a 200,000-sf lifestyle center and several small neighborhood centers, plus 1.15 million sf of industrial space and 1.75 million sf of office. The project will be characterized by streets with landscaped medians, meandering sidewalks and ample parking space. The development timeline is eight- to 10 years, Boylston says.

The project is a joint venture of EJM and Clark County. EJM recently inked a 50-year ground lease and will split income with the county, Boylston says. The project doesn't include residential because the county wanted to keep residential out from under the flight path to the airport.

Signed tenants for Arroyo Market Square include Best Buy, Home Depot, Chili's, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Marshall's, Sports Chalet, Ulta, Ross, Pet Smart, Michael's, Party City, Famous Footwear, Dress Barn, Men's Wearhouse, Bed Bath & Beyond, Paddock and Hallmark. Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Home Depot have sublet ground for their stores and the rest will be leasing built space, Boylston says.

"All of the tenants have agreed to architecture that is well beyond what anybody has seen them do before," including real stone accents, back-lit glass towers on all of the major buildings, and offset panels to make it look like multiple buildings, Boylston says. "The reason we insisted on it is because it will be right next to 1.5 million sf of class A office and we didn't want the architecture to detract from the corporate center."

The first phase of the project, the 310,000-sf Arroyo North industrial park, was completed December of 2005. The three-building park was leased up prior to completion. A second, mirror-image phase of the industrial park recently got under way. Both phases are located across I-215 from the bulk of the office and retail components.

EJM owns or controls about 3.5 million sf of space in the Vegas area. Projects include Arrowhead Commerce Center, Spencer Helm Business Center, Century Park at Russell Road and I-15, and Warm Springs Business Center Phase I and II.