Gindi Capital and JLL change the face of Las Vegas retail

Las Vegas retail had an outdated retail model that kept high-quality retailers contained inside the walls of hotels and casinos. Gindi Capital — a New York-based real estate and development firm — had a vision: to capitalize on the staggering foot traffic on the Strip and revolutionize Las Vegas retail by offering street level retail and entertainment with the BLVD project.

With over 700 feet of prime South Strip frontage, BLVD is bringing street-level flagship retail to the heart of the Strip along with dynamic, accessible rooftop food and beverage concepts. With deep roots in the retail real estate space Eli Gindi, cofounder of Gindi Capital, looked to JLL for scalable, strategic leasing and consulting services that would attract the right mix of mid- to upper-tier global brands and restaurants.

Filling a market need

Starting with their investment in the underdeveloped Showcase Mall in 2014 and the acquisition of the 9.5-acre Hawaiian Marketplace in 2019, as well as other neighboring sites on the South Strip, Gindi Capital was ready to dive headfirst into redevelopment. They knew Las Vegas was ready for a new concept, and the proof was in the numbers. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the city sees 40.8 million visitors each year, generating $51.5 billion in direct spending, and an average of 37 million visitors walk directly in front of Gindi’s site every year.

“At the time, what we were seeing on the Strip was mass-market retail,” said Gindi. “We questioned why so many brands you see in malls are not out on the street in Vegas like they are in Chicago, New York, Miami and LA. Street-level opportunities didn’t exist for these retailers in Las Vegas in a scaled way. National and global brands are particular about store frontage, ceiling heights and co-tenancy, so we set out to bring them ready-to-go, multi-story flagship storefronts with great exposure, easy access and a synergistic tenant mix.”

That tenant mix needed to address a fundamental shift in trends. Las Vegas is rapidly becoming a top-tier sports destination, with professional hockey and football teams added in the past decade and the Oakland A’s scheduled to relocate to the city in 2028. Las Vegas also hosts major sports events including the Formula One Grand Prix, major championship boxing and martial arts bouts, and is the go to destination for concerts and ‘in-residence” artists, so offering retail that appealed to sports and entertainment-minded visitors was an important part of Gindi’s strategy.

Overcoming the capital hurdle

Gindi’s site acquisition and pre-development as well as early branding and leasing activities coincided with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic — a time of great uncertainty for retail. A sharp increase in interest rates quickly followed, along with a lack of liquidity in the market. Financing BLVD’s construction became a major hurdle to clear, and Gindi needed a creative solution.

“The JLL Capital Markets team connected us to a Joint Venture partner who had been observing the project with a close eye and admired what we were doing,” said Gindi Capital CFO Jack Braha. “It was perfect timing, because the connection gave us the liquidity and cash that we needed to get the project off the ground.”

Building the infrastructure

With the idea for street-level, flagship-ready boxes fully conceived, BLVD needed very thoughtful infrastructure to support easy access to the property and its third-floor open-air rooftop space overlooking the strip. Gindi devised Las Vegas’s first site-specific ride share, valet and surface parking service not linked to a resort. The team created three different navigation options with an elevator, escalator or stairs to the rooftop — ensuring patrons can find their way up quickly and easily.

The necessary considerations for building a 120,000-square-foot roof and deck experience focused on food and beverage and entertainment, were vast — ranging from the right infrastructure and mechanical planning to waste removal and the minimum requirements for gas and water. To handle these critical details, JLL brought in a food and beverage specialist to the project team.

Big names recognize an opportunity

With access to the world’s top brands to curate the ideal tenant mix, JLL, together with Gindi, have unleashed the power of The Strip.

“Michael Hirschfeld, Steve Ferris and the entire JLL leasing team came with true flagship experience and shared our Manhattan mindset of where we thought the retail and rents could go,” said Braha. “They put together a team strictly focused on flagship leasing, rather than shopping malls or accessory retail. This was so important to the success of the project.”

“Quantitatively, the traffic in front of BLVD is equal to or exceeds that on Regent Street in London, The Champs Elysée in Paris, Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, and Fifth Avenue in New York City,” said Hirschfeld. “Even though our leasing team is U.S.-based, relationships with our colleagues in the world’s most prominent international retail corridors were a big advantage.”

Equally important to Gindi was attracting top retailers and securing the right food and beverage offerings for the roof deck by promoting the benefits of the third-floor location. After seeing the JLL team’s success in bringing a rooftop concept to life at an adjacent property, Gindi knew they had a partner they could trust and do the same for them.

“Scott Burns and the JLL team were relentless in their efforts to bring In-N-Out Burger to the BLVD rooftop, spending more than two years demonstrating the advantages and viability of the third-level,” said Braha. “From that point on, we had a big brand on board that drives traffic to the rooftop, providing a proof of concept that other restaurants needed to see.”

Purpose realized: a whole new vibe for the South Strip

Through their smart acquisition and development strategy of prime real estate in Las Vegas, Gindi Capital has successfully brought the largest standalone retail destination of its kind to The Strip. With three stories and 400,000 square feet of space and 11 double-height, street-level flagship spaces, BLVD has made high-quality retail accessible to everyone. Working with JLL, they have been able to secure leases with top-tier retailers such as Puma, H&M, Adidas, Lululemon, JD Sports, Pandora, Abercrombie & Fitch and ABC stores.

The rooftop deck with impressive views can easily be accessed from the street with visibility from over 40,000 hotel rooms. Visitors will delight their taste buds with an array of curated restaurants, including the world-famous In-N-Out Burger.

JLL provided full leasing and consulting services to Gindi throughout the entire development process, from land acquisition to leasing, to alternate revenue-generating opportunities through signage and kiosks. Currently, JLL and Gindi continue to pursue tenants that will contribute to the optimal retail mix.

After filling a noticeable VOID IN shopping, entertainment and dining in Las Vegas, BLVD is becoming a catalyst for local property owners and outside investors to maximize their Las Vegas Blvd street frontage. As Las Vegas is going through its next evolution it is apparent Strip fronting retail is going to have a major role. JLL & Gindi Capital will be at the forefront of this next chapter in the ever-unfolding Vegas story.