Las Vegas shopping center lands grocery store, other new tenants
A retail center in east Las Vegas that was dealt a big vacancy years ago when Kmart closed has now landed several new tenants.
La Bonita Supermarkets is opening a location in a strip mall at the southwest corner of Bonanza Road and Nellis Boulevard, and other stores recently opened there, including Boot Barn, Ross Dress for Less and discount retailer Five Below.
Also, sporting goods retailer Hibbett opened in March.
La Bonita, Ross and Five Below are all in Kmart’s former space, according to leasing broker Rhonda White of Sage Commercial Advisors. The shopping center, long known as Sunrise Mountain Plaza, is now just called Sunrise, she confirmed.
Retailers and their landlords have faced only rising competition from Amazon and other e-commerce sites for years, and plenty of shopping hubs locally and nationally have seen tenants go out of business or otherwise close shop.
But brick-and-mortar stores have by no means vanished, and, as with the plaza on Bonanza, landlords sometimes need to change things up to fill vacancies.
‘It’s often what they have to do’
According to White, the Kmart at Bonanza and Nellis spanned more than 100,000 square feet and was closing before the pandemic hit.
In general, landlords initially try to find one tenant to take over a big vacancy, but if they can’t, they look at splitting it into multiple spaces, she said.
It’s a pricey undertaking, she noted, given the need to build separation walls, split the power service, build plumbing lines, install new ductwork, put up new storefronts, and add delivery and loading facilities.
“They don’t like to do it,” White said. “It’s often what they have to do.”
Sunrise landlord Balboa Retail Partners did not respond to requests for comment.
The Los Angeles-based real estate firm acquired the center in 2017, property records show. According to its website, the plaza spans around 147,500 square feet.
‘Wrong message’
White also noted that having a grocery-anchored retail center is always a good thing. Such tenants typically drive traffic to the property and can boost sales at neighboring shops.
La Bonita’s store measures more than 50,000 square feet, city records show.
The Las Vegas-based Hispanic grocery chain currently has seven locations in the valley, according to its website, which says the Bonanza store is coming soon but does not give an expected opening date.
Multiple attempts to speak with the company about its new location were unsuccessful.
Councilwoman Olivia Diaz, whose ward includes the retail center, said that when a shopping plaza is laced with vacancies, it sends the “wrong message.”
Passersby may assume that services aren’t needed or wanted, or that a neighborhood is in a downward spiral.
Diaz said that many people wondered what would happen next after Kmart closed and that city officials explored the possibility of mixed-use development.
All told, her neighbors were hoping the plaza would be revitalized, she noted.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.
