More than 250,000 flock to Downtown Summerlin in opening days

People photograph fireworks as Downtown Summerlin celebrates it’s grand opening Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Grand opening events continue through Sunday.

At its opening extravaganza last month, Summerlin’s massive new retail center had fireworks, live music, food trucks and lots of visitors looking to shop, eat and be entertained.

The 1.6-million-square-foot Downtown Summerlin — formerly called the Shops at Summerlin — drew more than 250,000 people during its grand-opening festivities Oct. 9-12, developer Howard Hughes Corp. said this week.

A majority of retailers and restaurants reported better-than-expected sales for the four-day event, the company said.

Grand Opening of Downtown Summerlin

People photograph fireworks as Downtown Summerlin celebrates it's grand opening Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Grand opening events continue through Sunday. Launch slideshow »

Howard Hughes also disclosed this week that Downtown Summerlin’s retail space is 69 percent leased and that its nine-story office tower is struggling, with just 25 percent of the building pre-leased to tenants.

Downtown Summerlin’s retail lineup includes Macy’s, Dillard’s, Nordstrom Rack and Trader Joe’s. Eateries include Andiron Steak and Sea, Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, and Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

The only announced occupants of the office building are Howard Hughes, which has been expected to move its local headquarters there, and BusinesSuites, which is taking about 16,000 square feet on the third floor.

BusinesSuites rents furnished office space with a receptionist, phone and mail service, conference rooms and other typical workplace amenities.

The 106-acre project at Sahara Avenue and the 215 Beltway — which was mothballed during the recession by previous owners, leaving a hulking steel skeleton untouched for years near Red Rock Resort — is expected to cost $418 million, Howard Hughes said this week.

The company said it had incurred about $345 million in development costs as of Sept. 30, and that the remainder will be spent mostly on tenant improvements and leasing costs.

Helping pay for the project: Howard Hughes obtained a $312 million loan in July from a group of lenders led by Wells Fargo and had tapped $173 million as of Sept. 30.

The updates were announced Monday in Dallas-based Howard Hughes’ third-quarter earnings report.

As part of the report, the company said Summerlin land sales plunged in recent months from a year earlier, amid soaring prices. The 22,500-acre Summerlin community runs along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley.

Howard Hughes reported selling 34.6 acres — almost entirely to homebuilders — for about $19.8 million, or an average $573,000 an acre, in the three months ending Sept. 30.

That compares to 76.5 acres sold for $29.7 million, or an average $388,000 an acre, in the same period last year.

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