Downtown Summerlin is positive for the surrounding community and Las Vegas generally. The new shopping and office district will provide more shopping and restaurant options for residents. But in the long run, to avoid cannibalizing nearby retailers, downtown Summerlin must add more residential density nearby. This means developing adjacent vacant land into multi residential midrises and other higher density mixed use properties. The Howard Hughes Corporation understands this. They are increasing density for their other major MPCs in the Woodlands and in Hawaii. The key question for Summerlin watchers is how quickly can Howard Hughes Corporation add this density? The longer it takes, the greater the risk of Downtown Summerlin being a drain on the company instead of a cashflow producer.
