Developer awaiting $312 million loan for Shops at Summerlin

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A rendering of the Shops at Summerlin, now Downtown Summerlin.

The Shops at Summerlin

A streetscape rendering of the Shops at Summerlin. Launch slideshow »

Summerlin’s developer says it is months from obtaining a loan to cover much of the construction costs of the massive Shops at Summerlin retail hub.

Howard Hughes Corp. reported today that it expects to close on the $312 million loan in the second quarter, though it did not say which lender, or lenders, would put up the cash.

The developer started construction last year on the $391 million, formerly mothballed shopping and office complex near Red Rock Resort. As of Dec. 31, Howard Hughes had spent $107 million on it.

The 1.6 million-square-foot project is slated to open near the end of this year with department and specialty stores, including Macy’s, Nordstrom Rack and Trader Joe’s.

Howard Hughes is a spin-off from General Growth Properties, which abandoned the project in October 2008 during the national economic meltdown, leaving a steel skeleton off the 215 Beltway.

Also today, in its fourth-quarter earnings, Dallas-based Howard Hughes reported a continued rise in land sales to homebuilders in Summerlin, the 22,500-acre master-planned community along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley.

The company sold 52.5 acres of residential land for $23.9 million in the fourth quarter, up from 4.8 acres for $3.5 million in the same period in 2012.

Howard Hughes also develops master-planned communities in Texas and Maryland, along with other projects in Hawaii, California, New York and elsewhere.

Overall, the company posted a fourth-quarter profit of about $18.5 million, or 47 cents per share, up from a loss of $929,000, or a loss of 1 cent per share, a year earlier.

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