Agora Breaks Ground on 29-Acre Site

Calabasas-based Agora Realty and Management has broken ground on a 29-acre mixed-use master-planned commercial district in the heart of downtown North Las Vegas.  

Dubbed NLV Village, the redevelopment project is strategically located at the gateway to the city, east of the I-15 freeway along Lake Mead Boulevard and north along Las Vegas Boulevard. 

Agora has commenced construction on 200,000 square feet of retail space and 125,000 square feet of healthcare and medical office space, set for completion in two years. The firm began construction earlier this year on a 22,000-square-foot medical office building that will include primary care and specialty services. The project cost is estimated to be $105 million.  

The mixed-use project, which Agora calls “the largest redevelopment effort in the city of North Las Vegas’ history,” will bring healthcare and medical services to the city’s downtown along with new restaurants and shops. The complex will also provide a lucrative location for business start-ups and local entrepreneurs within a series of micro-enterprise units.  

“This project fulfills the North Las Vegas City Council’s vision to create a vibrant, livable downtown hub where residents can more easily and comfortably live, work and play,” Cary Lefton, chief executive officer of Agora Realty, said in a statement.  

One of the anticipated elements of the new development is a curated public space with children’s areas, event space as well as a large screen for outdoor presentations and movies that further connects the city and its neighborhoods. Agora also plans to incorporate micro-business suites, a concept popular at many of its other mixed-use retail centers, that can range in size from 150 to 450 square feet, to encourage first-time entrepreneurs and food operators, among other uses. 

“NLV Village will create another exciting destination in the city of North Las Vegas for residents and visitors, bringing more than 900 new jobs into the city and new services and amenities to our community. This is something the City Council and I have worked toward for the past eight years and created the right environment and processes so that could happen,” North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee said in a statement. “Agora has already made a tremendous impact in our downtown area, and we look forward to working with them on this next project to continue to bring our vision to reality.” 

Since 2020, North Las Vegas has ranked fifth on a list of cities with the greatest population increase in the United States, and over the last decade, the city’s population has grown by nearly 24%, according to Nevada Business magazine. 

“We believe in the North Las Vegas community,” Lefton said. “The city’s strong pro-business leadership has created a bright vision for the future.”  

Lefton credits the city of North Las Vegas’ “innovative and proactive, pro-business processes for creating the right foundation for (Agora’s success) in the market.” 

San Diego-based SCA Architects has designed the project while Pasadena-based Mycotoo will be working with Agora on design and programming for the micro-businesses and public spaces. 

Agora has been investing in North Las Vegas for the past six years, beginning with the redevelopment of Fiesta Plaza, a 200,000-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center located on approximately 23 acres in the city’s downtown area.  Agora Realty acquired Fiesta Plaza in 2016 with only 55% of the available retail space occupied and no anchor stores. Since that time, the firm has fully leased the center, expanding La Bonita Supermarket as well as adding a mix of local and national tenants including Conn’s, Ross Dress for Less, Ace Hardware, U.S. Bank, Denny’s and Shoe Palace. 

Agora’s portfolio encompasses more than 2 million square feet of retail space in the Western U.S. It currently has over 330,000 square feet of ground-up projects in various phases of development in Nevada.