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| - This is really more of a 3 1/2 star review but since we can't do halves...
Downtown Summerlin is the repurposed evolution of the abandoned construction carcass that was The Shops at Summerlin Centre. I must say, it is a nice addition. Seeing that the only real mall in the western portion of Vegas was the Meadows Mall (which is still pretty far from a lot of people and has been deteriorating for years), for years you pretty much had no choice to either go there, hop around from strip mall to strip mall or venture all the way to The Strip, Henderson or The Outlets if you wanted to get any shopping done. Now me personally, I don't really mind travelling a little to get some shopping done (I mean, I like to have a wide variety of horizons to choose from ya know?), but this is a great new option to have around for those of us who aren't willing to hop around or venture.
Now, there's not a large variety of stores yet, but expansion plans are already in the works. The ultimate goal seems to be turning the surrounding area into it's own mini-downtown of sorts, with not only retail and dining but also housing and workspaces. Being someone who adores new urbanism myself, that sounds nothing short of awesome to me.
I really like how there's a "range" of stores here so to speak. Upscale stores, like Sephora and Michael Kors next to Anytown, USA mall stores like Hot Topic and Foot Locker. There really is something for everyone, both by interest/personal style and income bracket. There's also a wide variety of dining options as well in addition to a ~luxury~ movie theater.
Now I will go into why I would prefer for this to be a 3 1/2 star review: Most of the center is designed as a pedestrian friendly, semi-urban environment, and yet, while searching for certain businesses that seemed to be impossible to find, I discovered that they (Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Capriotti's, Five Guys, etc..) were in a separate strip mall section with a giant parking lot separating it from the rest of the center. This was definitely the biggest flaw in my opinion. It totally broke the flow of the new urbanist experience, especially seeing that there was no shortage of parking anyway. In addition to the fact it seems that aside from Zaba's, Panda Express and Wetzel's Pretzel's, it seems that all of the quick dining options were placed in this section which is definitely an inconvenience to those of us in the mall who'd rather grab something and go than sit down when the munchies strike.
The Final Verdict
Pros:
More convenient shopping option for the west side.
New Urbanist development
Pedestrian friendly
Decent and accessible variety
Easy to access with public transit
Cons:
Strip mall section
Not many options for "grab and go" food
Return Factor: 10/10 and hopefully soon!
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