Park Avenue Project Aims to Bolster Tahoe's Retail Mix

South Lake Tahoe, Calif., has an abundance of natural beauty, but one thing missing from the scenery for the nearly 2 million tourists arriving yearly and the locals is enough retail— sending citizens on trips to Sacramento and San Francisco for serious shopping.

However, a retail boost is coming with the Park Avenue Project, a $300 million mixeduse complex including 100,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, currently under development by Minden, Nev.-based Trans Sierra Investments Inc. The rustic-looking project, with heavy timber accents and locally quarried granite, is expected to open Nov. 1.

Occupying a key portion of the Park Avenue development are two hotels: the 333-room Marriott Grand Residence Club—the hotelier’s new quartershare concept giving buyers 13 weeks of ownership per year—and the 240-room weekly timeshare Marriott Timber Lodge.

The project will also house the Shops at Heavenly, featuring 50 retailers and nearly a dozen restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck Express, Cold Stone Creamery, Quizno’s and a gourmet food and wine store called Cork & More.

Ventura, Calif.-based Patagonia plans to occupy a 3,000-square-foot store within a store, expanding its hybrid concept. Quiksilver Boardriders Club is looking to lease 2,500 square feet, though the deal hasn’t been confirmed yet, according to Quiksilver’s director of retail operations, Gregg Solomon.

Lining the area’s main boulevard just south of the Nevada state line, the project is part of a $1 billion city redevelopment effort to combat the area’s waning economic vitality given the availability of widespread gambling elsewhere.

Park Avenue is adjacent to the newly installed highspeed Gondola at Heavenly located at the ski bed base and steps to Caesars Tahoe and Harveys Resort and Casino. Still on the horizon are a convention center and another hotel/retail development.

Local business leaders say it’s a marked improvement from the days when deteriorating low-rent motels, Tshirt stores and souvenir shops dotted the strip. “The project couldn’t have a better location,” said Joe Riffel, a commercial realtor with Aspen Realty. “It’s what the town needs.”

Still, it’s been hard to generate a lot of apparel interest in the project, which is 60 percent leased.

“The economy has been a factor, but we think ladies’ apparel will do well in this environment,” said Lew Feldman, the project attorney.