World Market Center (sm) Las Vegas Announces March Groundbreaking Of Fully Leased Phase One Building

Furniture World Magazine

Oficials with World Market Center SM will formally mark the beginning of development of the first phase of the largest home furnishings facility in the West with a groundbreaking ceremony on March 21, 2003. In conjunction, a second Board of Advisors meeting as well as a tenant and buyer reception will precede the groundbreaking ceremony in Las Vegas one day earlier on March 20th. Located near downtown Las Vegas and comprising 1.3 million square feet on 10 floors, Phase One – dedicated to all segments of home furnishings – already is fully-leased, with commitments and signed leases received from about 250 companies, said World Market Center SM General Manager Dave Palmer. World Market Center SM is the largest proposed commercial construction project in Las Vegas, and brings enduring economic benefits to the City, such as new infrastructure downtown, positive economic and tax impact, and thousands of new jobs. “By breaking ground on Phase One, we are realizing an eagerly awaited progression in our project,” said Jack Kashani with Shawn Samson, co-developers for the Las Vegas Market. “This is indeed a proud moment for our entire team, and we intend to celebrate with all of our tenants, government officials, and the industry as a whole.” “The home furnishings industry has been extremely supportive of our project from the onset, and in a few short years, the full complex will showcase Las Vegas as the industry’s new hub in the West,” Palmer added. Officials also announced today that nearly every square foot of Phase One is completely leased, with no vacancy at all on the upper eight furniture floors. Las Vegas Market executives will soon begin pre-leasing for Phases Two and Three of World Market Center SM. “We’re thrilled at how quickly the first phase of World Market Center SM has leased. In fact, because of the overflow, we not only expanded the building on a couple of occasions, but we’ve also started taking reservations from major exhibitors for the second and third phases,” said Babs Blair and Russell Blair, leasing managers for World Market Center SM. “This demonstrates that the home furnishings industry has embraced Las Vegas and is excited about conducting its business here.” The development team for Phase One includes Whiting Turner Contracting Co., general contractor; Jerde Partnership International, lead design architects; JMA Architecture Studios, executive architects; JW Zunino, landscape design architects; Martin & Peltyn, structural engineers; Martin & Martin, civil engineers; Harris, mechanical engineers. “Having worked on some the largest speculative office and retail buildings in Las Vegas, we have never before seen a project completely leased prior to groundbreaking, as is the case with World Market Center SM,” said Edward Vance, AIA Senior Vice President of JMA Architecture Studios. “This represents a huge vote of confidence from the industry. With that, our mission is to create an environment that exceeds the exhibitors’ and buyers’ expectations.” The Las Vegas Market’s rapid leasing achievement, coupled with other significant milestones for the project, underscores the extraordinary degree to which the industry has demonstrated support for this super-regional market, according the project’s developers. When fully developed, the $1 billion World Market Center SM will be the largest and most comprehensive complex serving the home furnishings industry in the West. Comprising 7.5 million square feet and including a convention center, World Market Center SM will include every aspect of the design trade including home furnishings, decorative accessories, lighting, area rugs and related segments. Phase One will total 1.3 million square feet and will be a dedicated to all aspects of home furnishings, including furniture, bedding, decorative accessories, lighting and a first-class Design Center. The 10-story building will house six floors of furniture and bedding showrooms and two floors of decorative accessories and lighting. The first two floors of the building comprise the Design Center with a diverse selection of showrooms open year round. For leasing information, contact Babs Blair or Russell Blair at (888) 416-8600 or by e-mail at: Babs@LasVegasMarket.com or Russell@LasVegasMarket.com. For general information about the project, contact Dave Palmer, General Manager at: (702) 243-2356 or by e-mail: Palmer@LasVegasMarket.com. For more information, visit www.LasVegasMarket.com.