Mix-A-Lot

Metreon Serves Vegas with Multitude of Styles, Uses

By Tony Illia

A new $33 million mixed-use development in southwest Las Vegas features retail, residences and office space in a unique setting where no two buildings are alike.

Las Vegas’s rapid residential and commercial growth is increasingly fueling mixed-use development throughout the valley, offering more efficient land use and better conservation of natural resources.

Kennedy Commercial of Las Vegas is developing a mixed-use complex called Metreon Las Vegas at the northeast corner of Flamingo Road and the Interstate 215 Beltway in southwest Las Vegas.

Breslin Builders, Las Vegas, is the general contractor under a $33 million guaranteed maximum price contract. The project broke ground in November, and phases will open through the end of this year.

advertisement

“When a mixed-use development achieves its purpose, it provides an array of helpful, everyday services for residents and tenants,” says Matthew Brimhall, vice president of Metreon Las Vegas. “The services become amenities that enhance the ease and convenience of their everyday lives.”

The project consists of 113,300 sq ft of shops, offices and residences. There are 10 buildings arranged in a horseshoe configuration divided by an access road down the middle.

The 5.5-acre complex has two one-story, wood-framed retail and restaurant buildings totaling 21,627 sq ft. There are also two three-story buildings combining for 47,985 sq ft of ground-level shops and overhead offices. There is 32,000 sq ft worth of total office space, with divisibility to 2,000 sq ft, and 45,000 sq ft of restaurants and retail shops, including Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza, FedEx Kinko’s, Einstein Bros. Bagels and Las Vegas Athletic Club.

Designed by Aptus Architecture, Las Vegas, the quartet of buildings feature split-face masonry block and combed stucco as well as glass storefronts and metal canopies. The buildings have a palette of native desert colors with earthy browns, ochre and light tans. Metreon has a decidedly modern architecture consisting of varied facades, articulated recesses, cantilevered overhangs and clean geometric lines. No two buildings look exactly alike. One features a butterfly roof, while another has a rolled roofline. It gives the project an urban feel with different buildings of diverse heights and appearances for a village atmosphere.

“We’re trying to create an intimate, holistic experience by using a palette of rich desert materials,” says Brandon Sprague, president of Aptus Architecture. “The buildings cascade up and down with overhangs that control sunlight along the southern exposures for natural shade that allows people to eat outdoors and hang out.”

Metreon extends the urban experience with wide landscaped and shaded sidewalks that encourage pedestrian interaction and outdoor bistro-style dining. The project additionally boasts two five-story residential buildings, with seven units apiece. The 65-ft-tall structures each offer three live-work spaces over the first two levels with 10- to 14-ft-high ceilings. There are separate entrances for work and home, along with 100-sq-ft open-air terraces. The commercial space is located at the ground-level with residences above.

The 18,068-sq-ft buildings have three floor plans from 1,777 sq ft up to 2,945 sq ft in size, with prices ranging from $800,000 up to $1.9 million.

Homes have a loft feel reminiscent of Manhattan’s SoHo District with polished concrete and wood floors as well as exposed ductwork and beams. The residential buildings are arranged at the project’s far corners, roughly 150 ft from Flamingo Road, for unobstructed views overlooking the valley.

Units have open floor plans and ceilings up to 16 ft high, plus oversized windows, stainless steel kitchens, soaking tubs and fireplaces.

Homeowners all have terraces from 100 sq ft to 417 sq ft in size as well as free memberships to Las Vegas Athletic Club.

Other resident perks include two-car private garages. Rounding out the project’s collection of 10 buildings are four stand-alone 1,892-sq-ft parking structures discretely tucked away.

The residential buildings have distinctive rusted steel rooftop canopies that cantilever 25 ft over exterior stairwells with landings and elevators. The outdoor elements are both functional and ornamental. The stairwells, landings and elevators extend from the buildings’ masonry block façades and face inward. The steel structures are iconic components that give the homes an industrial feel and authenticity. It evokes the old world buildings found in New York City where residents use emergency stairwell landings as an extension of their home.

Breslin had to keep a business road open through the middle of the site during construction. Metreon Las Vegas is situated in front of the developer’s existing five-building, 46,000-sq-ft office park that opened in 2006, which has been re-branded as the first phase of Metreon. It means tenants and visitors are constantly coming and going.

“There is very little staging room available onsite since the project footprint takes up most of the available space,” says Al Banks, senior vice president of Breslin Builders. “It has meant careful coordination and planning of material deliveries.”

The buildings, which rest on slab on grade foundations, are being built in sequence in order to maximize the project’s available space. The property has a slight slope from west to east that necessitated a 13-ft-tall, 120-ft-long block retaining wall along its eastern edge.

Key Players

Developer: Kennedy Commercial
Architect: Aptus Architecture
General Contractor: Breslin Builders
Engineers: Lochsa Engineering; Wright Structural Engineers; PK Associates
Subcontractors: T. Barras Framing; Razor Masonry; Murphy Electric; Premier Mechanical; Gallagher Plumbing; XL Steel; Accuracy Glass & Mirror; Southland Industries

Useful Sources

Visit the project’s website at
www.metreonlasvegas.com

Click here for next Feature Story >>