Work begins on The Bend retail complex in southwest Las Vegas

A local developer has broken ground on a retail complex across the street from Ikea, a project that has been in the works for more than two years.

Construction crews started site work recently for The Bend, an eatery-heavy project that would also include a movie theater, after developer J Dapper said he redesigned the underground garage and made other changes to the planned complex in the southwest Las Vegas Valley.

Grading and other site work are scheduled to finish by June 1, he said, though it isn’t clear yet when the project will open.

Cost of $65-70M

Dapper, whose project is estimated to cost $65 million to $70 million and will feature 170,000 square feet of retail space, said Thursday he expects to hire a general contractor by the end of February to build The Bend.

Current estimates call for vertical construction to last 12 to 14 months, he added.

Dapper — who also reached a deal last year to buy the shuttered Huntridge Theater with the goal of restoring the rundown, 1940s-era venue — is building The Bend in a fast-growing part of the valley. Developers have packed the southwest suburbs with housing tracts, apartment complexes and other projects in recent years.

The Bend, on Sunset Road at Durango Drive, just north of Ikea, is slated to include such tenants as Mothership Coffee Roasters, Lotus of Siam, Freed’s Dessert Shop and Galaxy Theatres. Plans also call for a five-story office building, which would be built by a separate developer.

Dapper, founder of Las Vegas-based Dapper Companies, unveiled plans for The Bend in late 2017. His company later announced it expected to break ground by the end of 2018.

Plan changes made

The project site, however, appeared quiet until recently. Dapper said a combination of factors accounted for the delay.

The underground parking garage initially was supposed to be “much larger” than it is now, he said. The redesign took eight to 10 months but probably shaved more than $10 million in costs, according to Dapper.

He also said his group added some square footage to a planned brewery at The Bend, reconfigured some space for the movie theater and changed the project’s lead architect, switching from a small firm to a larger one.

As for dealing with Clark County officials, design professionals and others, Dapper said, “It just doesn’t happen overnight.”

Meanwhile, The Bend isn’t the only new project in the works across from Ikea.

Clark County commissioners recently approved plans by luxury gym operator Life Time for a three-story, 125,500-square-foot facility just east of the Swedish furniture dealer.

The Minnesota-based fitness chain has said it hopes to break ground this year.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.