Town Square, a 1.5-million-square-foot lifestyle center that will include a host of retail, dining and entertainment options, as well as 352,000 square feet of office space, will have its grand opening on Nov. 14.

The opening comes scarcely a week before the Thanksgiving weekend, which traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping frenzy.

Developers say the strategic location on Las Vegas Boulevard at Interstate 215, just south of the Strip, makes it easily accessible to people throughout the valley.

"We're adjacent to I-15 and the (Las Vegas) beltway and only a few minutes from Summerlin and Henderson," said Mike Wethington, general manager for Turnberry. "This project, with all of its options, is something the area has needed for a long time."

With an estimated price tag of about $750 million, the project includes an 18-screen, all digital Rave Motion Pictures theater, 150 retail stores, and more than a dozen restaurants.

Anchor tenants include a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market, a 24-Hour Fitness Center, Borders Books and Robb & Stuckey, a home furnishings store.

In an effort to blend the old with the new, the Fry's Electronics site, which sits adjacent to Town Square, was also purchased by Turnberry and will be incorporated into the project through access roads. Fry's is more of a traditional big box retailer, but Wethington said the company was excited to have the iconic structure, and a tenant that is extremely popular among locals, in the fold.

H & M, a trendy fashion retailer that made a splash on the Strip when it opened its first store at the Miracle Mile Shops Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood earlier this month, will also anchor a section of the project, with a 26,000-square-foot store.

Speaking of splashes, the center will also include a 13,000 square foot children's park, complete with pop jet water fountains, huge playhouses, a treehouse and a playground. Town Square Park, adjacent to the children's park, will include a pond, a picnic area and an outdoor entertainment area that can be used for concerts.

Wethington said the center itself is designed to look like a city that has evolved over time, with several different architectural styles, such as colonial and Spanish mission.

Two-and three story structures will include a mix of retail and office spaces, some with balconies that open to a view of the street below.

Architects for the project are Baltimore-based Development Design Group and Boston-based Alan J. Mayer Architect.

The retail component is more than 90 percent pre-leased, primarily with standard 10-year lease agreements, while Wethington said leasing efforts for office tenants are still in the preliminary stages.

One of the first commercial tenants to sign a lease, however, was the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, which will occupy 35,000 square feet of office space in the center. The chamber is scheduled to relocate to the site by the end of the year.

Unlike early lifestyle centers that opened in the area, such as the District in Green Valley, the streets in Town Square will flow through the project, allowing easy vehicle access to all of the shops. There will be parking available on the streets within the project, as well as parking garages that will combine to provide more than 5,500 spaces.

Mike Wethington, general manager of Turnberry Associates, looks over plans for Town Square, a mixed-use development on Las Vegas Boulevard South. Town Square is being developed by Turnberry Associates and CENTRA Properties. Photo by Steve Marcus

One difference between this project and other lifestyle centers being planned in the valley is that, because of zoning restrictions, it does not have a residential component.

Wethington said that even without a residential customer base inside the center, the plethora of shops and unique dining venues should draw people in.

Yard House, a brewery restaurant, Bar Louie, Brio and The Grape, a wine bar, are among the restaurants that will be making their Las Vegas debut. In addition to the restaurants located in the primary entertainment area, there will also be several other dining options scattered throughout the center. None of the tenants in the center will offer gaming.

The entertainment area will be comprised of four buildings, including the movie theater, and several restaurants and night spots, which will be interconnected to provide easy access between the venues.

Similarly, the other "neighborhoods" of the center will have a common theme, such as fashion or home furnishings.

"The idea was to group stores with a similar focus together for customer convenience," Wethington explained.

Another customer convenience financed by Turnberry, at a cost of $5 million, is the flyover on Las Vegas Boulevard that provides easy access for customers coming into the site from the south. The ramp, which resembles a freeway on-ramp and leads right into the site, should help offset congestion and increase safety in the area, as northbound cars no longer have to dodge oncoming traffic to enter the center. Turnberry expects more than 60,000 cars per day to pass through Town Square.

Similar to the way Strip retail venues market to tourists first, and take what local business they can get, Town Square intends to focus on local traffic, but will welcome any tourist business that comes its way.

"This was really designed with the people of Las Vegas in mind," said Vicki Rousseau, director of marketing for Town Square Las Vegas.

With the opening coming so close to the holiday shopping season, Rousseau said Town Square is planning an extensive advertising campaign that includes television and radio ads.

"We will also utilize other methods to get the word out," Rousseau said. "We have found, for example, that direct mailers are very effective."

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. on grand-opening day, but shops will be open from 10 a.m. Some initial promotions include a display of life-sized reproductions of Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers and, of course, the arrival of Santa Claus on November 17, the first weekend the center is open.

The H & M opening, which is always a grand production, is also expected to draw a huge opening-day crowd.

Wethington said Town Square expects to have about 50 percent of the retail space up and running for the grand opening, with the other retailers gradually coming on line through April of next year.