In the News...

La Vista's Southport development continues to take shape as a "gateway" project - a large mix of offices, hotels, restaurants and retailers serving as a highly visible entrance to this Omaha suburb off Interstate 80.

The 137-acre Southport West and the 115-acre Southport East make up the triangular-shaped Southport development on the east side of I-80 bordered by Giles Road, Harrison Street and Eastport Parkway.

The development houses major employers such as Fortune 500 company and eBay subsidiary PayPal, as well as a major retailer, Cabela's, which opened a 128,000-square-foot store in November 2006.

Now, construction is beginning on buildings with smaller retail bays, and national restaurants and retailers are starting to notice the daytime population.

Trenton Magid, president of World Group, said at least 4,500 people work in the development. His firm manages and handles leasing for Southport Center, a retail area under construction in Southport East.

"A lot of the office ground has gone first. We've populated the area," Magid said. "Now we need the services to go along with the population . . . Now it's a natural for national and local retailers to capitalize on that growth."

Three tenants have signed leases for Southport Center, which consists of two buildings totaling 43,000 square feet, Magid said.

Construction on the first building started in January and is expected to be completed Sept. 1.

Jimmy John's restaurant will occupy 1,804 square feet at the east end of the first building. At the west end of that building, the owners of On the Rocks, a bar near 168th and Harrison Streets, plan to operate a pub, Magid said. The Pizza Gourmet will occupy 4,815 square feet in the middle.

Six bays remain available for lease in the first building, which was designed by TSP Architects and is being built by Oakview Construction.

The second Southport Center building has 12 bays  four of them are preleased to a local, high-end restaurant, said John L. Hoich, Southport Center's owner and developer.

Construction on the second building is scheduled to begin in the fall and be completed in the first quarter of 2009, Hoich said.

"We're in negotiations with several other tenants, including retail and service providers," Magid said.

He said he also knows of two national restaurants that are "very close to landing at Southport West." One is family-oriented, and one is a steakhouse, he said. Both are sit-down restaurants covering 5,000 to 6,000 square feet each, and both would be new to the Omaha market, he said.

Magid said that he originally had expected sit-down restaurants to commit to the development sooner but that national chains have slowed expansions across the country. Still, the La Vista development is drawing national interest.

"They can't pass up an opportunity to have such a high-traffic area and strong daytime and nighttime populations," he said.

Hoich touted Southport Center's architecture and construction, calling it a miniature Village Pointe or Shadow Lake Towne Center.

"Nothing will be built nicer than this year," Hoich said.

Brenda Gunn, La Vista city administrator, said city leaders originally saw the value in the site, located on La Vista's western fringe. The City Council adopted design standards calling for enhanced landscaping and decorative lighting to make the development an attractive entrance into the growing suburb.

"I think the quality out there and the types of projects are exactly what the mayor and council had envisioned," she said. "Now it's starting to happen, and we're all very excited about it."

In addition to PayPal, Southport East includes a Runza restaurant, Pinnacle Bank, Fantasy's Food 'N Fuel, the 116-room Hampton Inn and Suites and Securities America's three-story, 87,000-square-foot headquarters.

Taco John's, Burger King, American National Bank and Security National Bank have purchased land facing Giles Road near Eastport Parkway, Magid said. A Summer Kitchen Cafe is under construction at Giles Road and Eastport Parkway.

In Southport West:

• Douglas Theatre Co. announced in August that it planned to open a 14-screen movie complex in the late summer or fall of this year on 10 acres east of Cabela's. Since then, however, Marcus Theatres Corp. of Milwaukee has signed an agreement to buy seven Douglas Theatre Co. locations in Omaha and Lincoln. Marcus tentatively has agreed to buy the La Vista site for about $4.4 million.
• A 257-room Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center is scheduled to open in June.
• A 221-room Marriott Courtyard is scheduled to open in early fall.