Empty retail space on Strip goes into foreclosure

A retail property on the Las Vegas Strip that has been empty for years has gone into foreclosure.

Lenders foreclosed on a vacant storefront at the base of condo tower Sky Las Vegas in April, after the mortgage for the retail space went into default, according to property records and business-entity filings.

Located on the north Strip, the store has been empty since pharmacy chain CVS moved out in 2017. Real estate brokerage signs out front have announced the space is available ever since.

Virginia real estate firm Capital Square, the storefront’s landlord for more than a decade until the recent foreclosure, declined to comment.

Southern Nevada’s famed casino corridor has several CVS and Walgreens locations that sell medicine, food, booze, shot glasses and more, and given the masses of tourists walking around every day, it’s a big business. Drugstores on Las Vegas Boulevard have commanded hefty property values, high sales revenue and pricey rents.

Amid a wave of drugstore real estate deals on the Strip, Capital Square put its CVS-occupied storefront up for sale in 2016 at $42 million, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

Capital Square had acquired the roughly 14,380-square-foot space in 2014 for about $33.3 million, property records show.

CVS’ lease was set to expire in 2029, though it had multiple extension options, and its rent in 2017 was slated to top $2 million, the Sun reported.

But the drugstore, at 2700 Las Vegas Blvd. South, suite 100, closed in 2017, according to Clark County business-license records.

CVS spokeswoman Amy Thibault said in a recent email that several factors went into the decision to close the location, including “reduced foot traffic, population shifts, consumer buying patterns, store and pharmacy density, pharmacy care access, and community health needs.”

Capital Square’s purchase of the storefront was backed by a roughly $22.9 million loan, county records indicate.

Late last year, a notice of default was filed with the county in connection with the loan, and then a foreclosure auction was subsequently scheduled, county records show.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.