Bossier City/Shreveport is lacking good retail. Sure, the Louisiana city has the standard malls and power centers. But the area has never seen anything like the development that is about to drop in the heart of the casino district and line a 56-acre tract along the historic Red River. At least that' what Los Angeles-based O&S Holdings and RiverWalk Entertainment LLC are counting on.

Scheduled to open in fall 2003 or spring 2004, the Louisiana Riverwalk project is a joint venture between StoneBridge Golf Course and Subdivision developer John Good Jr. and O&S Holdings. A privately-held company since 1992, O&S Holdings was founded by cousins Gary Safady and Paul Orfalea, founder and chairman of Kinko'. The company started off modestly with 5,000- to 6,000-square-foot projects but has definitely evolved with the Louisiana Riverwalk project. The $150 million to $180 million project sits on 2,100 feet of river frontage and promises to deliver 440,000 square feet of retail, live theaters and restaurants in its first phase.

"We' opportunistic," says Safady, managing partner. "We' not geographically restricted, so we look for opportunities wherever we can find them."

And what an opportunity this is. The Bossier City/Shreveport area is the fifth most popular gaming destination in the United States, with over 16 million gaming visitations annually. The Louisiana Riverwalk will become neighbor to the 700-room Horseshoe Hotel and Casino (the top-grossing casino in Louisiana) and sit directly across the river from the Harrah' and Hollywood Casinos in Shreveport. About 16 million tourists visit the area annually. That is more than the number of people who visit Branson, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; or Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. There are 12,000 casino and hotel employees, and more than 3 million square feet of office space in the surrounding area with 15,000 office workers. More than 115,000 cars pass the project daily, with easy access to Interstate 20, Traffic Street and the Texas Street Bridge.

A great location, needless to say, but Safady and his cousin looked at the opportunity as a void in the market. "We saw a nice area with a lot of tourists, but no good retail," he says. "There are two malls here, but they don1t really serve the purpose because the typical tourist already has a similar mall in his or her own city."

So O&S Holdings accumulated approximately 98 residential and commercial properties along the Red River and began demolition. In its place will be approximately 700,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, with parking for more than 4,000 vehicles. There will also be about 50,000 square feet of office space, similar to artist, loft-type space. Current plans for the project also include a 14-screen movie theater with stadium seating; a family amusement area, featuring a carousel, miniature golf and Ferris wheel; a "Sportsman' Village" catering to the Red River' popularity for fishing and other recreational uses; four live theatres, featuring country, blue grass and some rock music, as well as Broadway-style musicals and shows; and two non-gaming hotel facilities.

"The thing we' really focusing on here is the live entertainment district, which is a unique component to the typical entertainment centers that are being built today," says Safady. "Given the area and some of the demographics of the people coming to the casinos, we feel that' an important component to our project."

A veteran in the retail/entertainment industry, Tom Gilmore of Dream Street Enterprises is lending his expertise as a consultant to the project. Gilmore, who has worked on projects such as Universal City Walk in Hollywood, will be responsible for the overall merchandise plan, tenant mix and operations.

"The site has the critical factors needed for this type of project to succeed," says Gilmore. "The project is in the middle of a local trade area of over 400,000 with very good demographics. The trade area currently has no Main Street or entertainment center destination for locals and tourists, and Riverwalk has a tremendous connection to the Red River experience. It is a great site for retail, dining and entertainment venues."

The first tenant to sign on was sporting goods giant Bass Pro Shops, which has encouraged a lot more retailers to come up to the table, says Safady.

"Bass Pro really validates the market as far as a retail destination and a tourist destination, and now we' in the process of going after the smaller guys," he says.

Other tenants are yet to be announced, but there will be approximately seven restaurants going in along the waterfront, and O&S Holdings is negotiating with a couple of major restaurants to anchor the waterfront area. The company also plans to feature a comedy club and has signed a deal with a dueling piano bar out of the Las Vegas and Seattle areas. The company recently received an executed letter of intent for 45,000 square feet on two floors from Zoto', a Santa Barbara, California-based retailer that features a high-energy entertainment format similar to Dave and Buster'.

O&S Holdings worked closely with HTH Group out of Los Angeles on the design of Louisiana Riverwalk, which will feature plazas, river promenades, iconic towers, light shows and an amphitheater. Outdoor rooms will be shaded by cantilevered planes and tree canopies, and will contain fireplaces and water features.

"Our goal was to deliver a project that has high energy and not just your typical construction," Safady explains. "If you look at the malls, they are typical block construction, one-story buildings with low ceilings, and they have no pizzazz. Our project is open-air; it' meant to be pedestrian friendly and meant to not only attract the tourists, but also the locals by bringing restaurants and uses that are not currently in the marketplace."

In fact, there is not another project like it within a 150-mile radius. "There' no project like this here as far as a waterfront or high-energy project," notes Safady.

©2002 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.