Village Square reshaping, hoping to add new shops

If Colby Durnin could have one wish, it would be this:

"If I could capture lightning in a bottle, it would be a vibrant center at Tuesday at lunch."

But he's a realist.

As the asset manager for Village Square, he has to be. Durnin's company, Sentinel Development, manages a shopping center with a 39.5 percent vacancy rate to contend with - 94,850 square feet of the 240,000-square-foot property at 9400 West Sahara Ave. is empty.

Sentinel became involved with the property in November after the property was purchased for an undisclosed price by Los Angeles-based Westport Capital Partners. Its former owner was Triple Five Development.

A full-scale remodel is under way, as is the hunt for lessees. Since the purchase, seven new tenants have signed leases, including 808 Tapas, which is scheduled to begin work on the site in 30 to 40 days. Other newbies include Patty's Closet, Sparkle, Bachi Burger and European Antiques.

"There were a lot of people looking to do deals," Durnin said.

One of the new tenants, candy store Rocket Fizz, has been in the center four months.

"We have been steady in our numbers and we've been doing really well," said owner Sherri Stewart.

On average, Stewart sees 500 to 600 customers weekly. The average Rocket Fizz sale is $10, and about 80 percent of the people who walk in her door purchase something.

Sentinel Development also has begun hosting community events to attract shoppers to Village Square, including an Easter egg hunt that attracted about 750 people.

"The center was packed. It was awesome," Stewart said.

There's more to come - including a movie festival, a kids' variety show, wine tastings and a pumpkin patch in the fall.

Durnin said he plans to be hands-on with Village Square and wants to build on the momentum.

"You'll see our boots on the ground on a weekly basis," Durnin said.

But for now, Village Square's weekday traffic often depends on the popularity of new releases showing at the Regal Village Square movie theater. When Hollywood stumbles, Rocket Fizz has an off week.

On weekends, Stewart said "it's generally pretty busy. Typically the parking lot is at least two-thirds full. Popular destinations like Archi's, a Thai restaurant, Cold Stone Creamery and Round Table help attract clientele.

On a recent Tuesday at about 10:30 a.m., however, the sprawling parking lot showed only a light sprinkle of vehicles across wide expanses of bare asphalt.

As part of the Village Square remodel, the center will be repainted, with its current varying shades of turquoise, red and blue to more muted tones like beige and brown. Outdoor seating areas will be added near the theater and the parking lot will be realigned to better facilitate traffic flow.

Durnin hopes the face-lift will help attract "high-quality" tenants to augment his mix, which already includes businesses like the stationery store Alligator Soup and Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

"I can't tell people what a big deal it is to do seven leases in under six months," Durnin said. "This isn't a pie-in-the-sky plan 12 months out. We're in the midst of redeveloping and re-creating Village Square."

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at
lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.