No tenants yet signed for 20-acre parcel at Sahara Avenue and Hualapai Way

It's a sign of the times. The northeast corner of Sahara Avenue and Hualapai Way is sporting a public notice board, the type the city erects when a construction project is being considered.

EHB Inc., which owns the land in partnership with IDB Development Corp. Ltd., confirmed it has been getting leasing inquiries for the site.

"The world has changed to the extent that we've owned property through high times and low times in this economy. ... The sign had people expressing interest in portions of the property," said Frank Pankratz, president of EHB.

He said the site "had a number of people expressing solid interest" and that interest was ongoing, generated even before the sign went up. He declined to comment on how many possible tenants had already approached the company, but called it "several."

Resident Ellen Bachman said that when she sees a city sign like that, "I automatically think something's going up soon. You assume everything is ready to go, but I don't know how the process works."

She said it was a promising sign in this economy.

The parcel is just under 20 acres. It is already zoned for commercial.

Pankratz said the highly visible nature of the property, with frontage on Sahara and Hualapai, was conducive to in-line commercial development. He said the company also was looking to include multi-family units on the parcel. Original plans had been to build condo units, which are still a possibility, but with the shaky economy, those ideas may change, he said.

Pankratz said various companies have approached the development company over the past several months, requesting leasing details for various sized pads. One company expressed interest in what he deemed a "large user pad," a free-standing unit such as an office/retail project.

He said tenants were being considered, based on compatibility, for a blend of offerings at the site. Pankratz said once 60 percent of the project is leased, ground could be broken. He did not have a timeline for that.

"It's too preliminary," Pankratz said. "We're not into the site development and planning stage yet."

EHB and IDB bought the land about seven years ago for an undisclosed amount.

EHB is also looking to develop 60 acres in the northwest near Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center, 6900 N. Durango Drive. EHB acquired that land from Triple Five for $6 million. Triple Five had planned to build the Great Mall of Las Vegas there, but that was before the economy tanked.

Preliminary planning is already done on that site, Pankratz said, and he and his team anticipate announcing plans "in the relatively near future. ... We need to fine-tune the site plan."

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.