The District at Green Valley Ranch

The project was built in the Green Valley Ranch neighborhood located within the city of Henderson, Nevada, which is part of the Las Vegas Valley. The District is split across two parcels, which are divided by South Green Valley Parkway and were developed as separate phases. It is located east of the Green Valley Ranch resort. The District and the resort were both developed by American Nevada Corporation.[1]

Plans for the resort were underway in 1996, along with a proposed mixed-use center on adjacent property that would include restaurant, retail, medical, and office space.[2][3] The Green Valley Ranch hotel-casino opened in December 2001, and American Nevada announced that it would proceed with plans for an urban village, to be built on 30 vacant acres located east of the resort. A pedestrian walkway would link directly to the hotel-casino. The project was described by American Nevada president John Kilduff as a "pedestrian-friendly Main Street concept". It was meant to resemble the downtown areas of small towns in the Northeastern and Midwest United States. Kilduff said, "It will look like this center was built over 60 or 70 years. It will look like you're going through different neighborhoods. One building might be brick, the next stucco".[4]

The project, known as The Shops at Green Valley Ranch, received final city approval in December 2002.[5] The city's zoning codes had to be altered to allow for the project to proceed. It was designed by Perlman Architects,[6] with McCarthy Building Companies as the general contractor.[7][8] Construction on the $80 million project was underway in early 2003.[9] The project's location was considered desirable, being situated beside the Las Vegas Beltway.[10][11] In March 2004, a name change was announced: The District at Green Valley Ranch. The new name was chosen to reflect the project's wide array of features other than shopping.[10][12]

"Main Street" area in 2007

The District opened on April 15, 2004.[13][8][14] It contained seven buildings for a total of 406,260 sq ft (37,743 m²).[7][15] Among them was a three-story office building with 65,000 sq ft (6,000 m²), located on the property's southeast corner. Residential units were located in other buildings, above the ground-floor retail tenants.[12] The District had 42 retail spaces totaling 195,000 sq ft (18,100 m²). The open-air mall opened with 29 retailers,[8] while additional stores opened later in the year.[16][17] Retailers included Anthropologie, Coldwater Creek,[12] and REI's first Las Vegas location.[18][19] Restaurants included Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que and P. F. Chang's,[10] The District includes a total of 88 condominium units, previously planned as apartments. A 150-space parking facility was built underground for residents.[1][20][21][22]

In April 2005, American Nevada began construction on its second phase for The District, located east of the first phase. It was built on half of a 40-acre parcel, and included retail and office space. Some tenants, such as The Cheesecake Factory, were scheduled to open in August 2005. Others, such as Whole Foods, would open the following year.[1][23]