Facing redevelopment pressure, Las Vegas shop owner buys her building

April was a big month for Merra Cordier, the owner of high-end consignment shop The Purple Chandelier.

During a celebration for her 50th birthday held at the store, Cordier surprised her family with a ceremony where she married her business partner, Ted Anzell. Shortly after, Cordier closed on a deal to purchase the property that The Purple Chandelier, formerly Lynn’s World Consignment and Bodega Furniture, has operated out of since 2016.

“It was really just fantastic,” said Candace Bare, the senior director of investment at real estate brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap, who represented Cordier.

Last year, Cordier’s landlord notified her that a developer wanted to buy the property on the corner of Eastern Avenue and Tropicana Avenue with the intention of tearing down the building and redeveloping it.

When Cordier learned of the potential redevelopment plans, her knee-jerk reaction was to “fight” for “the amazing thing” she and Anzell had built in the community.

“We can’t let our business go,” Cordier said. “We’re not gonna allow this to happen.”

While Cordier briefly entertained the idea of moving elsewhere, she said those thoughts were short lived. She cited the property’s “central” location as a factor that continues to draw her to the store.

Cordier also pointed to the connection she shares with the community.

“I feel like we’ve established ourselves in this community as somebody that not only our customers depend on but also our neighbors and the people in this community depend and rely on us to keep this area on the up and up,” Cordier said.

Cordier said the actual process of acquiring the property was “very challenging.” Not only was it the first time that she had purchased real estate of that magnitude, but Cordier said the seller was at times difficult to work with.

Ultimately, Cordier purchased the property for $3.75 million, she said.

Bare said Cordier’s experience exemplifies the redevelopment pressure that she said continues to reshape older retail corridors throughout Las Vegas.

“It’s a value-add proposition,” Bare said. “Many developers are looking for this exact business model and can turn it around at a great profit after a redevelopment. So it’s very much in demand. And it’s a perfect location for someone to want to do that.”

Cordier, meanwhile, decried the fact that rising rents and pressures from developers could make it difficult for businesses like hers to lease the spaces they have historically been able to.

She said people who own retail properties would often rather those spaces sit empty, than “lower the rent to the point that businesses can actually afford to stay there.”

“I’m not a real estate business, and so for me to have to own the space to operate in in order to be able to stay within a profitable margin is tough,” Cordier said.

Still, Bare said she was “happy” with the way the deal worked out.

“Even though there were the initial difficulties at the beginning, the whole overall transaction wound up being very smooth and successful,” Bare said. “I think everyone ended up being very happy, and so it wound up being a great thing.”

Contact Sophie Baker at sbaker@reviewjournal.com.