A major mixed-use development in North Las Vegas is poised to begin emerging from the ground.

Vestar Development Co. of Phoenix said Thursday that it has firmed up plans for a $300 million "lifestyle" shopping center with 1.3 million square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space at North Fifth Street and Craig Road.

The project will also have about 800 residential units, which the Athena Group of New York will develop.

The center, which will house about 125 stores, is scheduled to open in late 2008. Taubman Centers of Michigan will lease the development.

Lifestyle centers are distinct from more conventional shopping centers in that they have entertainment such as restaurants, movie theaters or bowling alleys, said Zack Hussain, a senior associate specializing in retail at the Las Vegas commercial brokerage of CB Richard Ellis.

Neither the Athena Group nor Vestar commented on or provided further details regarding the development. A press release said the development would have restaurants, specialty shops, department stores and big-box stores in sectors such as electronics and home goods. Outdoor fireplaces, a performance stage and shaded walkways will provide gathering places for the center's customers, said Rick Kuhle, Vestar's president, in a statement.

"This project will serve as the family-oriented town center for the increasingly large population of residents in the city of North Las Vegas," Kuhle stated.

"The city of North Las Vegas is notably under-served in terms of retail and dining opportunities," he added.

Hussain said he hadn't seen specific plans or a tenant roster for Vestar's project, but he said developers generally wouldn't proceed on a project that big unless they had a substantial share of the space -- at least 50 percent to 60 percent -- leased in advance of construction.

Yet Hussain said he isn't convinced that the surrounding area is ready for such a development. Developers and tenants of lifestyle centers usually require a nearby concentration of households with high disposable income.

"The demographics that frequent lifestyle centers have very different buying habits," Hussain said. "You see those demographics prevalent in Summerlin, northwest Las Vegas and west Henderson, but Craig and North Fifth is almost in an industrial area where there are a lot of blue-collar workers."

The more upscale communities that could bring higher-end residents to North Las Vegas -- Aliante and Park Highlands -- are either unfinished or not under construction. It could be a decade before North Las Vegas has enough residents to support a lifestyle center, Hussain said.

And as those residential master plans are completed, they'll provide serious competition for the center's residential component, Hussain added.

The small pool of potential customers hasn't stopped other developers from wading into the North Las Vegas market.

Former Horseshoe owner Jack Binion is proposing a mixed-use project at Centennial Parkway and Losee Road. Plans call for more than 2 million square feet of retail space, a nongaming hotel and at least 2,000 homes.

Binion representatives didn't return a phone call seeking the project's status by press time.

Complicating the outlook for both projects is a planned 2-million-square-foot mall Triple Five Development wants to build near U.S. Highway 95 and the Las Vegas Beltway in northwest Las Vegas.

"Until there are enough rooftops in the area, it doesn't make sense for retail tenants to come," Hussain said. "Retailers follow rooftops. They need (residential) density and maturity."

Hussain, who's leasing a lifestyle project planned in the Henderson area, said a developer's experience level would help determine whether a lifestyle project could succeed. Tenants who are considering taking space will look at developers' backgrounds to assess whether a proposal is realistic.

Vestar has developed or manages nearly 40 large retail centers in Arizona and California. The company's management portfolio contains more than 11 million square feet of retail-related space. Among the projects it has developed are the 1.2 million-square-foot Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix, the 1.2 million-square-foot Scottsdale Pavilions in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the 1 million-square-foot Long Beach Towne Center in Long Beach, Calif.

The company's Web site doesn't list any prior projects that Vestar owned or developed in Nevada.

The Athena Group has built several high-rise condominium towers in and around New York City, and has just under $2 billion in ongoing development activity in its portfolio.

The companies didn't indicate in their statement how the center would be financed.

North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon said in a statement that the Vestar project would bring 1,650 construction jobs to North Las Vegas, as well as 5,000 permanent full-time and part-time jobs once it opens.

"Above and beyond that, we are going to meet a strong need for additional housing for our growing population," Montandon's statement said.

Hussain agreed that if the project is successful, it will boost the city's fortunes.

"It will only enhance North Las Vegas," he said. "A quality development such as this would not only improve the value of the neighborhood, but it will attract more residents. Residents would not have to look to Summerlin or Henderson for entertainment and to congregate because they'll have a center in their own back yard. We wish them the best of luck, because Las Vegas needs projects like these."

The developers are holding a contest to name the project. Each North Las Vegas household may submit one entry. The winner will receive a four-year scholarship to the American college of his or her choice.