There’s not much David Kautz hasn’t done in his decades in the development business, but the mixed-use project he’s working on now, building urban density in a suburban location, is a new one for the 64-year-old — and for Las Vegas.
Kautz joined San Diego–based Matter Real Estate Group in December as a senior vice president to lead development and oversee the opening of UnCommons, a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use project with an urban flair.
As senior vice president for the Las Vegas–based Howard Hughes Corp., Kautz previously developed $700 million of commercial real estate, including a baseball stadium for the AAA baseball team the firm owned. He also spent three years as vice president of development in the Northwest U.S. for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in Seattle, four years as Northwest regional director of real estate for Home Depot and two years as Staples Southwestern U.S. director of development.
UnCommons, southeast of the city near the 215 freeway and Durango Drive, will incorporate four office buildings, 800 apartment units, three parking structures and 100,000 square feet of retail. The project will break ground in April, and the first phase will open in November 2021. In the first phase: two office buildings that will include retail; two parking structures; a theater with cinemas on the ground floor and a second level for live entertainment; and five retail buildings with food-and-beverage, a market hall and other retail.
“Every step of the way, I learned another piece of the puzzle”
“Vegas’ economy, like so many others, is booming. It is probably the best economic time the valley has ever seen,” said Kautz. “UnCommons is a very unusual project. You don’t see much of a truly dense urban project in a suburban setting.”
Kautz says his experience in development and on the retail side has been invaluable. “Every step of the way, I learned another piece of the puzzle,” he said. “At Westfield I was doing regional mall rehabs, and I also did some ground-up lifestyle centers. And then to be with Home Depot — a retailer that was in a very aggressive expansion and development mode, where we bought everything, we built everything ourselves — in a ‘pure development’ role.”
Kautz joined the industry in 1979 and has been an ICSC member for roughly 30 years. The constant throughout his career: “I have always prided myself on delivering, no matter what the task, no matter what the time frame, no matter what the obstacle. Delivering has always been something that is very personal to me. Never lose. Always deliver on-time, under-budget, profitable projects.”
By Ben Johnson
Contributor, Commerce + Communities Today
