The all-round Las Vegas shopping center: Miracle Mile Shops
Is there an archetypal Las Vegas shopping center? How about Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas?
“A Las Vegas shopping center should feature a range of shopping, entertainment and dining options that appeal to the wide audience the city attracts,” said David Edelstein, co-owner of Miracle Mile Shops.
“The stores should stay open late and bars and restaurants even later,” he continued. “Always keep an eye on trends and what shoppers are responding to.”
“Finally, it should be easily accessible. There is a lot of competition for shoppers’ attention on the strip. To compete, you must pay attention to the overall traffic flow and ease of access at your entrances.”
Edelstein also noted that Miracle Mile Shops recently spent about $2 million to install an escalator at the pedestrian bridge that crosses Las Vegas Boulevard at Harmon Avenue to reduce pedestrian congestion near one of the two entrances to the center.
As a name, Miracle Mile is descriptive. The shops encircle Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and the PH Live theater adjacent to the casino, abutting each building along the outside wall. A corridor that opens to 170 shops and 15 restaurants on both sides goes on and on for 1.2 miles.
Miracle Mile Shops originally opened as Desert Passage in 2000. Edelstein’s group purchased the center in 2004. “In 2007, we de-themed the design and transformed the center into a sleeker, more urbanized and contemporary space, and we rebranded as Miracle Mile Shops,” Edelstein said.
The remodeling effort added giant exterior LED video screens, installed people movers at the entrance and modernized the storefronts and kiosks.
Since the rebranding, the center has signed 67 leases with new retailers, many just entering the Las Vegas market. Some attracted large crowds. When H&M leased its first Las Vegas location at Miracle Mile in 2007, more than 1,000 people waited in line for the store to open.
Between 2011 and 2012, the center signed new tenants that took more than 94,000 sq. ft.
Recent additions include the first and only Las Vegas location for Garrett Popcorn Shops, the first Las Vegas location of jewelry boutique Scamp & Scoundrel, The Art of Shaving and Francesca’s.
Edelstein voices optimism about the future of Vegas Strip retail. “Las Vegas is seeing an overall shift away from high-end luxury,” he said, “and shoppers and visitors are really responding. Miracle Mile Shops has always focused on being shoppable, so to speak, and accessible.
“Our goal is to provide something for everyone.”
That strategy seems to be working. All told, the mall has seen foot traffic rise from 40,000 people per day in 2007 to 72,000 visitors per day. That’s almost double and more than enough to call Miracle Mile Shops the archetypal Las Vegas shopping center.