Las Vegas NowConstruction Revs Up on Summerlin Project

Construction Revs Up on Summerlin Project

LAS VEGAS, Nv. -- The sounds of iron and steel have ceased on many construction sites around the Las Vegas valley because of the poor economy. But one project has restarted its construction.

It is called Tivoli Village and it's under construction in Summerlin next to Boca Park near Rampart and Charleston Blvd. It's a combination of retail, office and restaurant space. The company is pushing ahead despite a recent study that says commercial real estate will hit rock bottom in the upcoming year.

The owners of Tivoli Village are optimistic the space will thrive. The sounds of hammers and tractors are bringing new life to a construction site that has been quiet for nearly a year. In 2006, there were 300 workers on site until the economy tanked. Management was forced to scale back construction and cut staff to only 30 workers.

"It's all about timing and clearly there was a bump in the road. It was a significant bump in the road," said Patrick Done, vice president of Tivoli Village.

Done says the site will now move forward. In the past two weeks, they have brought their staff up to 75 workers and have gone full throttle in building and excavating.

"The market is improving. First of all, by way of example. ICSC reports sales for October were up over 2%. While it doesn't sound significant, it's a signal. A signal that things are improving. And, it's a signal that retailers and restaurateurs need. It signals stabilization," Done said.

More than half of the 370,000 square foot project has already been leased to high end businesses. "We know sales will stabilize, and in addition to that retailers, in order to generate earnings, have to open new stores, that's the only way it happens long term. They know that has to occur over the next year to 2 to 3 years," he said.

Done does not know when the economy will fully improve. But he says this busy construction site is a good indication on where the economy is headed. Originally, the developers were going to build 700,000 square feet of shops and office space but the project has been scaled back and phase one will be about 270,000 square feet. They hope to go back to the original plans once the economy is strong.