Call center to fill anchor space at Boulevard mall

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Steve Marcus

An exterior view of the Boulevard Mall Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016.

Wed, Mar 8, 2017 (2 a.m.)

The Boulevard mall has a new tenant, but it won’t be a place to grab the latest fashions.

Mall owner Sansone Companies has entered into a lease agreement with TeleTech Services, whose state-of-the-art call center facility will occupy a 50,000-square-foot section of the mall.

The call center will be TeleTech’s first facility in Nevada and will provide technical assistance and other services for Fortune 500 companies.

"We are so pleased that TeleTech Services has chosen the Boulevard as their newest location,” said Timo Kuusela, vice president and general manager of Sansone. “We believe this will be a beneficial partnership as their employees will have immediate access to the mall and its services, and their large employee base will contribute to the success of our tenants.”

Englewood, Colo.-based TeleTech is a global provider of customer service, engagement and growth solutions. The company, which will employ almost 700 people locally, has 43,500 employees and provides services in more than 80 countries.

TeleTech anticipates the facility will be operational by May, with the large portion of employee recruiting scheduled to begin by the end of this month.

To meet anticipated high demand, a recruitment center will be located inside the Boulevard to handle job applicants.

Despite the seemingly odd pairing of a having a call center in a mall, Kuusela said the partnership makes sense.

“At malls especially, when large-format retailers leave, they leave large amounts of square footages behind to fill,” he said. “Our initial analysis showed us that we had a tremendous site for call center use due to the large amount of parking available at the site, the central location providing easy access for employees, and the connected mall project with the services for the employees to grab a quick lunch, get their nails done (or) drop off their car at Firestone.”

The change in business plans is largely due to the recent surge in online shopping, which has hindered traditional retail outlets. Kuusela said he understands longtime anchor tenants such as Macy’s, Sears and J.C. Penney are fading out and are hopeful to replace them soon. Macy’s at the Boulevard will close this month, one of 68 stores Macy’s announced it will shutter throughout the nation this year.

TeleTech will occupy some of the space left vacant when the two-floor Dillard’s shut its doors in 2008. Teletech will be taking over the upper level.

“Dillard’s was two floors, at 100,000 square feet each, so John’s Incredible Pizza and Goodwill took the lower level. We removed the escalator to the second floor, creating a separate office space with a dedicated parking garage,” Kuusela said. “After TeleTech comes, there will be an additional 50,000 square feet remaining.

Kuusela said Sansone remains committed to re-purposing the mall and fulfilling the vision of Roland Sansone, owner of Boulevard mall, while creating job opportunities in the community.

“Sansone Companies is committed to the growth of the Boulevard and the Las Vegas community,” he said. “The mall’s recent $25 million redevelopment has established the property as a modern shopping and dining destination. With the addition of TeleTech, the Boulevard continues to grow as a premier commercial office space for companies doing business in Southern Nevada.”

Kuusela said that a yet-to-be-named luxury theater will break ground at Boulevard by April 1, and mall officials are in talks with health clubs, virtual reality arcades and others to take space at the mall.

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