New plans unveiled for Great Mall of Las Vegas project

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The newest and most likely final plan for the Great Mall of Las Vegas was presented at a neighborhood meeting on May 16 in a meeting room at Santa Fe Station.

Community members mingled with representatives from Triple Five Development Corporation, City Councilman Steve Ross' office and Perlman Architects to discuss the project that will sit on 48.5 acres adjacent to the northeast corner of Deer Springs Way and Grand Montecito Parkway.

The new scheme unveiled eliminated two residential towers, bringing the total to two 15-story towers and 900 condominium units. At a meeting held in February, four towers and 1,200 units were planned.

The condominium floor plans and prices are not set but a rough estimate projects that the price tag for a 1,000-square-foot space will be almost $700,000.

The residences will feature swimming pools, a fitness center and pedestrian access to the mall. The plans also include a lifestyle center, an entertainment component, restaurants and retail space.

James Grindstaff, vice president of planning for Triple Five, said the three-story lifestyle component, which will be similar to The District at Green Valley Ranch, was added after many residents requested an outdoor residential and retail area.

The first level will be made up of mainly restaurants. Officials said California Pizza Kitchen and P.F. Chang's have both shown interest. The second floor will consist of approximately 40 condos and some will have third floor lofts.

Triple Five will take the plans to the planning commission for approval on June 8.

"It doesn't mean this is the final plan if there are concerns," Grindstaff said.

The planning commission meeting will see a request for a change in zoning. A real but invisible line splits the areas of Montecito and Town Center. The Montecito half is zoned with no height limit, while the Town Center area is only zoned for two-story structures. The plan calls for one 15-story tower to reside on each side of the invisible line.

"Councilman Ross asked (Triple Five) to move the buildings as far from residents as possible," said Shelia Lambert, Ross' liaison. "They are as far north of Richmond America and Timberlake as possible."

If there are no delays, the project will break ground in January 2007 and the mall will be set to open in August 2008.

Grindstaff said once the plan is approved it will take about six months to complete the infrastructure and another 18 months to complete the building. The condominium construction, which won't begin until the units are 100 percent sold, will be twelve months behind the mall construction.

The entire project has been reduced by 410,000 square feet of commercial space. The plans now consist of almost 1.3 million square feet of retail space in the mall, which will have two stories of basic retail and a 20,000-square-foot movie theater on the third floor. The two anchor stores will be Robinsons-May and Dillard's.

Some residents had reservations about what would happen to the area once the mall was completed.

"My major concern is that they are not going to abandon the buildings," said Michelle Stefan, a Timberlake Resident. "I don't want this to turn into another Meadows mall."

Grindstaff said the area will be kept up because the residents of the condos will demand it. He said there will be plenty of security, as in all Triple Five developments, plus extra officers for the residential area.

Most of the apprehension came from the thought of the future traffic. The mall will not have direct access from U.S. Highway 95. There will be three entrances off Grand Montecito Parkway.

"My concern is there is no access to and from the 95," said Dan Brasen, who lives in the area. "Grand Montecito (Parkway) is going to need an awful lot of traffic lights."

There will be a double buffer built between the mall parking lot and the closest community, Timberlake, including a landscape buffer next to the parking lot and a road. Grindstaff said this will help mitigate sound and light.

Triple Five is planning to use shorter lights in the parking lot than in most commercial areas. The lights will be reduced to 12 to 15 feet tall.

Grindstaff said most of the construction will take place Monday through Friday but that there could be some work on weekends.

Triple Five Development Corporation, Triple Five Nevada's parent company, has developed the Mall of America in Minneapolis and a mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, among many other projects.