COLUMN: Carmel Hopkins

Dorothy turned to her little dog after looking around in amazement and said, "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

That's how I felt the week of Halloween.

Three events proved Las Vegas has become a major economic force in the United States: the opening of the west extension of the Fashion Show mall, the groundbreaking for Steve Wynn's La Reve project, and the fall meeting of the Urban Land Institute.

I wrote about the ULI gathering previously, but after attending some of the seminars and talking with many of the attendees, I realize more strongly the importance of the meeting to the general good of Las Vegas.

The men and women who were here from around the world are movers and shakers in their industries. These include architects, land planners, retail and office builders, developers and -- most importantly for Southern Nevada -- investors.

If I heard it from one person, I heard it from 100: "It's been quite a while since I've been to Las Vegas and I'm so impressed with what I've seen."

The weather was beautiful, the Strip wasn't too congested and ULI attendees were taken with all the excitement surrounding the expansion of the mall. Everyone seemed surprised to hear that locals shop at the Fashion Show and expressed interest in returning in a year to give it a review when the "cloud" is finished at the entry.

To those of us who have shopped the Fashion Show since its opening more than two decades ago, the new wing is breathtaking.

Where they could have put in just another series of shops, The Rouse Co. went out of its way to make the shopping experience more interesting. The mall now goes "uphill" as it goes west, with escalators showing the way to the new wing.

The fashion show concept has been enhanced by a runway that pops out of the floor, on which stores will feature their latest fashions.

The mall is all marble and glass -- shiny and new. Even the original section seems to have more glitter. Neiman Marcus, at the east end of the mall and one of its original anchors, has expanded. It could be my imagination, but it seems as though Macy's has more room. Robinsons-May and Sak's Fifth Avenue are sporting more space and Dillard's is spreading its wings at the west end.

It would be an understatement to say locals and tourists were eager for the grand opening. More than 100,000 shoppers were counted at the Fashion Show on Nov. 1; on a typical day, there are 20,000 to 30,000 shoppers. The two major attractions were the new Bloomingdale's Home Shop and the Nordstrom's store, where opening day traffic and sales volume "far exceeded" expectations, according to general manager Alan Morrell.

Fashion Show is the only mall in America with seven anchor stores: Bloomingdale's, Dillard's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Robinsons-May and Sak's Fifth Avenue. Once Lord & Taylor opens in late 2003, it will have eight anchors.

Steve Wynn took advantage of Nevada Day to break ground on Le Reve, his newest brainchild on the Strip. The groundbreaking ended a busy week on Wall Street for Wynn as Le Reve's stock went on sale in a successful IPO.

Wynn spoke at the breakfast meeting the last day of the ULI conference. His was one speech during which nobody walked out. Wynn spoke of his vision for Las Vegas and the curse of being addicted to building bigger and better entertainment venues.

The Las Vegas mogul insisted that in order to be successful, casinos must be built from the outside in and with an eye for entertainment. Wynn speaks from the heart and is passionate about his newest project.

One wag at the ULI conference startled me by asking whether the opening of Le Reve and the expansion of the Fashion Show were staged to impress convention goers. Ever the unabashed rooter of Las Vegas, I informed him that there always are exciting things happening in town, they just hit an especially busy week.

I almost said, "You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574. Her e-mail address is Carmel_Hopkins@ lasvegasnewspapers.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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