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In business downtown higher education Austin influence continues on east fremont with grocery UNLV hopes new dorms attract more students to campus By Joe Schoenmann staff writer A new grocery store is heading downtown. Sources with the Downtown Project say an urban grocery store is planned for East Fremont Street in the space formerly occupied by Mamita's Mexican restaurant and the Fremont Street Market & Deli. Both are south of the El Cortez, between Sixth and Seventh streets. The Downtown Project doesn't own the properties, according to county records, but leases them from Ike Gaming, the same corporation that owns El Cortez. The grocery store will be similar to a franchise called Royal Blue in Austin, Texas, sources say. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh spoke of emulating Austin when he announced his company's headquarters would move from Henderson. More recently, Will Wynn, the former mayor of Austin who is credited with turning that city's downtown around, has consult- By Paul Takahashi staff writer UNLV is planning to build apartment-style dormitories that officials hope will be open to students by fall 2015. The university, which is trying to transition from a commuter campus to a residential college, has long been trying to build apartment-style dorms to complement its five traditional dormitories and encourage more on-campus residents. Apartment-style dorms are favored by upperclassmen, graduate students and non-traditional students, who tend to be older. UNLV hopes to partner with AVS to build and operate the new dorms, which will be called Midtown Park and ultimately house 3,000 beds. AVS is a private firm founded by Las Vegas real estate developers American Nevada Company and the Vista Group. (American Nevada is a sister company of the Greenspun Media Group, which ed for the Downtown Project. Royal Blue has been described as a "scaled-down Trader Joe's." It has three locations in Austin, with two more coming in the next year. Sources said prices in the East Fremont store would likely be higher than those in a typical supermarket. The store also would sell sandwiches and other freshly made items. The store could be open within nine months, a source said. Robert Fielden, an urban planner and architect, said a grocery store is a step in the right direction in creating a livable downtown. He said the next step would be residences, because population density will be needed to keep the store alive. There's already a small specialty food store, Resnicks Grocery, on the first floor of the Soho Lofts. And White Cross Market recently opened at East Oakey and South Las Vegas boulevards. owns VEGAS INC.) According to documents released by Nevada's higher education leaders, UNLV would purchase about 14 acres near the intersection of Maryland Parkway and Cottage Grove Avenue, just north of the university, for $17 million. The land would be leased to AVS for 35 years to maintain and operate the dorms. UNLV would market and lease the apartments, as well as collect rent. UNLV would retain 3.5 percent of rent to cover its costs. The 14-acre property is owned by AVS, and hosts University Park, a 280unit apartment complex that is over 40 years old. University Park is facing lender pressure to resolve its loan issues, according to the documents. If the purchase goes through and the dorm project moves forward, residents of University Park will be displaced. The complex's occupancy rate is 94 percent, about 15 percent of which are UNLV students. STRATOSPHERE CASINO | HOTEL | TOWER "Best Restaurant" Nevada Magazine FRee DesseRt Duo chocolate pot de crème and fresh berries in white chocolate cup – with the purchase of your entrée when you mention seeing this offer in Vegas Inc. Located on Level 106. TopOfTheWorldLV.com | 702.380.7771 | 12 AUGUST 2013 20130812_VI11_F.indd 11 | Sunday through Thursday, 11am to 10:30pm • Friday and Saturday, 11am to 11pm 11 8/8/13 2:17:01 PM