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Southern Highlands
Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Southern Highlands News
New Southern Highlands mega-mall planned
BY TONY ILLIA
A mixed-use, live/work/play project is being planned alongside the $2 billion, 3,200-room Southern Highlands Casino Resort in the southwest valley. "The Gallery Southern Highlands" will be a 310,000-square-foot, 100-store, open-air mall at the northeast corner of I-15 and St. Rose Parkway. Chicago-based Blatteis & Schnur is the project's leasing agent.
The lifestyle center will feature four restaurants and a 14-screen multiplex theater, with 170 loft-style condominiums and 100,000 square feet of office space. Residences will average 1,200 square feet in size. Homes and offices will be situated above ground-level retail stores along a pedestrian-friendly, stone-paved main street.
An electric-powered, fixed-guide trolley system, similar to those found in the streets of San Francisco, will service the complex. The mall, meanwhile, will have 7,000 parking spaces, including a two-level underground garage.
The project is being developed by Southern Highlands Development Corp., an Olympia Group subsidiary. This is the same firm behind the 2,750-acre Southern Highlands master-planned community in the southwest valley, as well as the new 2,675-acre Park Highlands community now under construction in North Las Vegas.
INSTANT ANTIQUITY
"The Gallery Southern Highlands is the perfect complement to the wonderful community we've created at Southern Highlands," said Garry Goett, Olympia Group president, in a statement. "These shops, cafes and restaurants will not only serve the nearby residents but the huge tourist population that visits Las Vegas every year."
There will be 10 buildings on site, from single-level to four stories tall, positioned to create narrow streets, alleyways and promenades.
The Gallery will additionally feature an outdoor amphitheater as well as sculptural fountains.
The architecture, described as "Romantic Mediterranean," includes lush landscaping, broad sidewalks, and benches and planters. The buildings will have a variety of façade surfaces and textures, from stone to stucco, along with colonnades and glass storefronts.
"It will have a very European look and feel," said Chuck Coleman, vice president of development for Southern Highlands. "The Gallery will appear as though it has been there for over 100 years, aging and evolving organically over time."
The 14-acre complex is scheduled to break ground in the first quarter of 2008. A contractor has yet to be named. The Gallery Southern Highlands is expected to reach completion in the fall of 2009. The center is anticipated to be a major attraction for tourists and visitors, in addition to the 700,000 locals who live within a 20-minute drive. The Gallery will also play a major role in the 530-foot-tall Southern Highlands Casino, which is expected to open with an initial 1,400 rooms in winter 2008.