Building in the Arts District to get $1 million renovation
A limited-liability company called Main Street Investments II is redeveloping an 11,000-square-feet building for 10 commercial tenants at Main and California streets in downtown's Arts District.
Main Street Investments, along with tenants, are expected to spend more than $1 million on rebuilding and renovating the Corner Building in 2016. It's expected to be open in six to nine months, said Paul Murad, president of the Las Vegas-based leasing agency, Metroplex Group.
The retail units will range in size from 720 square feet to 7,000 square feet, with a large courtyard area and 6-foot wide raised platform on Main and California streets for outdoor eating and drinking. Rents are starting at $2.25 per square foot.
Four of the units would be along Main Street and five spaces would be along California Street, with one tenant such as a possible craft brewery or coffee roaster in the back, Murad said.
Main Street Investments II paid $1.35 million for the building at 1201 S. Main Street, just south of the Charleston Boulevard intersection. A popular Mexican restaurant, Casa Don Juan, is across the street.
Murad declined to identify the investors, saying, "They'd rather not focus on themselves."
Nevada Secretary of State records show Main Street Investments II LLC filed on June 24. The only officers listed is Sarah Barton as manager, with an address of 2360 Corporate Circle Suite 400 in Henderson.
Barton works at Costello Realty and Management in Las Vegas. When the Review-Journal called Costello Realty on Monday and asked for Barton, the woman who answered the phone at the business, said, "We're OK, thank you" and then hung up.
Purchased for $1.35 million, the 11,000-square-foot building translates into a per-square-foot purchase of $123 — considerably less than the per-square-foot costs of buildings purchased by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's Downtown Project in the East Fremont Street corridor.
In fact, Murad said he would like to "rescue" any Downtown Container Park tenants who are struggling on the third floor of the outdoor retail center that was built by Downtown Project. For example, he has been in touch with Eric Healey, who closed his Monocle Optical eyeglass store on the third level last week.
Murad said he hopes the city keeps the free parking available in the Arts District because metered-parking near Container Park hurts businesses in that immediate area.
"One thing the city can do to help is keep it a meter-free zone," Murad said of the Arts District.
Next door to the Corner Building, is another Main Street Investments commercial project, the 5,000-square-foot Buffalo Exchange business — one of 48 such clothing-exchange locations across the country, Murad said.
Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com. Find him on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel
