Showcase Mall

After the 1989 announcement of plans for the MGM Grand hotel and casino,^[4] attorney Bob Unger recognized the investment potential of an adjacent property where he was handling an eviction case.^[5] Unger approached his friend, banker Barry Fieldman, for financing, and the two partnered to form Makena Development Corp. in 1992.^[5][6] Makena purchased Island Plaza, a small shopping center on the site that would become the southern part of Showcase Mall.^[6] They then beat out MGM in an effort to purchase two gas stations to the north of Island Plaza.^[5][6]

Forest City Enterprises, a national real estate developer with interests in Las Vegas including the Galleria at Sunset mall, signed on to provide additional funding and expertise to the project,^[6] taking a 20% ownership stake.^[7]

The first business at the mall, the Official All Star Cafe, opened on December 15, 1996.^[8] An eight-screen United Artists Theater opened in March 1997.^[9]

Island Plaza was demolished in 1999 to make way for the second phase of Showcase Mall,^[10] with 43,000 square feet (4,000 m²) of retail space and a $33-million budget.^[11] The second phase, south of the original building, opened in 2000, featuring a gift shop with an interior designed to resemble the Grand Canyon.^[12][13]

North of the original portion of the mall, a parcel occupied by a Denny's restaurant was earmarked for a third phase of construction. In 2003, Westgate Resorts announced a $180-million plan to build a 54-story tower with over 700 timeshare units on the Denny's site.^[14][15] Facing strong opposition from MGM Grand and concerns from county officials about the size of the project,^[16] the plan was scaled back to 42 stories,^[17] but was ultimately rejected by the Clark County Commission.^[18]

In 2005, the developers sold the first phase of the mall for $142 million, to a partnership of San Francisco-based City Center Retail and New York investment firm Angelo Gordon & Co.^[19] The buyers also spent $30 million to acquire a leasehold interest in the Denny's site.^[20]

The mall's third phase was built in 2009 with 97,400 square feet of space, anchored by a Hard Rock Cafe and a Ross Dress For Less store.^[21] The City Center / Angelo Gordon partnership sold this portion of the mall in 2011 to Unilev Capital Corp., a California real estate investment company, for $93.5 million.^[21]

In July 2014, City Center and Angelo Gordon sold the original center section of the mall for $145 million to a partnership between the Nakash family (founders of Jordache) and investor Eli Gindi.^[22] The Nakashes and Gindi, along with home-curtains manufacturer Elyahu Cohen, then purchased the third, northern section of the mall from Unilev Capital for $139.5 million in January 2015.^[23] The Nakashes and Gindi consolidated their control of the mall in December 2015, buying the southern portion from Fieldman for $82.9 million.^[24]

A planned expansion of the mall was approved in September 2017. Earlier in the year, the Nakashes and Gindi had paid $59.5 million to purchase a building to the north of the mall, which had previously housed the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse. Plans called for the building to be demolished and replaced with a new four-story, 145,000-square-foot (13,500 m²) building.^[25] It would be anchored by Target and Burlington department stores.^[26][27] Both stores opened in 2020 in the new building.