Vegas Building 2 Will Include Major Business Amenities

July 25, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Las Vegas on July 2006 In addition to more than doubling permanent showroom space at the Las Vegas market, the top floor of World Market Center’s Building 2, set to open for the January 2007 show, represents an effort to turn WMC into a major business hub for the furniture industry.

WMC management took press on a tour of the 16th floor Tuesday morning to give an advance look at 20,000-square-foot area that will include industry association offices, a state-of-the-art media center and press facility, restaurants and special event spaces, and a VIP lounge overlooking downtown Las Vegas, the Strip, and panoramic views of the mountains West of the city.

“This floor is a non-revenue producing floor in that it doesn’t have showrooms, but it will have amenities to support the industry,” said David Palmer, WMC general manager.

With 1.6 million square feet and an additional 300 showrooms, the fully leased Building 2 will give the World Market Center 530 showrooms, and 3.1 million square feet of permanent space when it opens early next year.

In addition, the temporary exhibition area that has switched between the Las Vegas Convention Center and Mandalay Bay to date will move to the Cashman Center, five minutes’ drive from the WMC, for the show next January.

Construction is set to begin on Building 3 in September, and that facility will give the WMC 5 million square feet of permanent space to complement the 350,000-square-foot pavilions temporary area when it opens for the July 2008 show.

Shawn Samson, managing partner of the World Market Center traced the evolution of the facility’s “vision” during the tour.

“This concept was originally a property of 1.5 million square feet, and a $115 million project,” he said. When organizers realized the demand in the marketplace “we expanded the concept to 7.5 million square feet and a $1 billion dollar investment ... That grew to 10 million square feet and $2 billion. Now we’re committed to 12 million square feet and an investment of $3 billion, The first three buildings alone represent a $1 billion investment.”

The 21st-century global economy, he added, has changes the rules of doing business, and that WMC has a jump on other furniture markets in that regard.

“We find ourselves with markets in search of a vision,” he said. “Our vision came from the needs and the wants of the industry. The (hospitality) infrastructure of Las Vegas is an important and integral part of the Las Vegas market.”

Motioning to the view from Building 2’s 16th floor toward the rows of hotels in the background, Samson added, “I call this a $100 billion project, because the other $97 billion has already been invested.”