Town Square is an open-air shopping, dining, office, and entertainment center in
Enterprise,
Nevada, United States. It occupies approximately 100 acres (40 ha), located one mile south of the
Las Vegas Strip. It was developed by Centra Properties and
Turnberry Associates. Construction began in 2005, with
Marnell Corrao Associates as general contractor. Town Square opened on November 14, 2007. It has 1.5 million square feet (140,000 m2), including 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m2) of office space. In 2017, Town Square was sold to
Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and Fairbourne Properties, with the latter also handling management.
History
Town Square occupies approximately 100 acres (40 ha),[3] and is located one mile south of the
Las Vegas Strip. Centra Properties initially bought 57 acres from
The Howard Hughes Corporation, with plans to build an industrial park. This project was scrapped when Centra partnered with
Turnberry Associates to buy an adjacent 27 acres. The purchase was finalized in January 2004, and included the
Vacation Village hotel-casino, which closed in 2002. Vacation Village occupied what is now the southeast corner of Town Square. Additional acreage was also acquired from
Clark County.[4][5][6] The property's location was considered desirable; its proximity to the Strip would make it an ideal tourist spot, and the site is also adjacent to
Interstate 15 and the
Las Vegas Beltway, providing easy access for local residents.[7]
The companies announced Town Square, an outdoor
mixed-use project, in May 2004. The project was designed by Development Design Group, which previously designed
Easton Town Center in Ohio and
CocoWalk in Florida.[4] Alan J. Mayer Architect, a Boston-based firm, also worked on the project, referring to older cities such as Barcelona, Boston, New York, Paris and San Francisco for inspiration.[8][9] Town Square blends historic and modern architecture; its buildings are made of brick, glass, stone, stucco, and terracotta.[10][1][9] Designers spent considerable time to ensure that each building has subtle differences to one another.[11] The project has a total of 22 buildings,[12] and Development Design Group created 70 different storefront facades.[1] The project also includes $15 million worth of landscaping,[5] including palm-lined streets,[1] and a $3 million children's park measuring 9,000 sq ft (840 m2).[12][2][13]
Construction of Town Square began in 2005, with
Marnell Corrao Associates as general contractor.[10][5] Town Square was built along the west side of
Las Vegas Boulevard; a $5 million[14]flyover ramp was built for northbound motorists, providing them easy access to Town Square without disrupting southbound traffic.[15][16]
Valued at $750 million,[13][17] Town Square was opened on November 14, 2007, amid the
Great Recession.[18][19] It opened with 38 tenants,[20] while others debuted in 2008.[21] The recession inadvertently aided Town Square by delaying several competing projects:
Downtown Summerlin,
Great Mall of Las Vegas, and
Tivoli Village.[20] Although it was built primarily for local residents, Town Square also quickly became popular with tourists.[22]
In 2010, the project's lenders initiated foreclosure proceedings. The Soffer family, which founded Turnberry, subsequently sued
Lehman Brothers, alleging that it refused to provide financing as agreed.[23][24][25] Lenders foreclosed on Town Square in March 2011 and took over the property, leasing it to
Forest City Enterprises for management purposes.[26] Turnberry retained ownership of some unfinished office space at Town Square.[27]Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and Chicago-based Fairbourne Properties purchased Town Square in January 2017, taking an 85- and 15-percent ownership stake respectively.[28][29] Fairbourne also took over management.[30] Dornin Investment Group bought out Turnberry's remaining office space in 2018.[27]
Tenants
Various storefronts at Town Square
A nearby
Fry's Electronics store, located south of Town Square, was purchased by Turnberry and Centra to become part of the mixed-use project ahead of its opening.[10][12][15] The store originally opened in 2003,[31][32][33] and closed in 2021 as the company ended operations.[34] Town Square contains 1.5 million square feet (140,000 m2),[8] excluding the former Fry's building.[35]
Shear Madness, an interactive play, ran briefly at Town Square during 2009. It closed as a result of the Great Recession.[51] Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar, based in Texas, operated a Town Square location from 2009 to 2012.[52][53][54]
Town Square opened with 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m2) of office space, located above the retail space.[1][13] Notable office tenants have included
Amazon.com,
SolarCity,
WeWork,[55][56]DraftKings,[57] and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.[13]
Upon opening, future plans for Town Square included a 270-room hotel.[1] TIAA and Fairbourne have also considered the addition of a hotel, which would be constructed on the property's northwestern area.[3] However, it remains unbuilt as of 2022.