The first three buildings are configured in such a way that if one segment of the home furnishings industry has greater demand, the segment can expand vertically into new floors as well as horizontally into new showrooms in adjacent buildings.
Babs Blair, World Market Center, Director of Leasing

See photo gallery from the inaugural Las Vegas Furniture Market here.

The city of Las Vegas this week unanimously approved plans for Phase 3 of the World Market Center and the adjacent 9-story parking garage. At nearly 2.1 million square feet and 16-stories with a construction cost in excess of $500 million, Building 3 will be the largest and most diversified showroom structure planned for the 12 million square foot home furnishings campus. World Market Center is slated to become the largest trade complex of its kind in the world.

World Market Center plans to pull permits and break ground on Phase 3 in the fourth quarter of 2006 with an 18-month construction timeline. Once complete in 2008, the first three buildings will total 5 million square feet of permanent home furnishings showrooms across all industry segments with an additional million-plus square feet available at temporary venues.

World Market Center officials have already begun leasing Building 3 with nearly 15% of the space already committed.

“We are bringing the best of each market segment to this building and under one roof,” said Jack Kashani, Managing Partner of World Market Center. “Such diversification allows manufacturers to cross-sell and cross-merchandise in a whole new way, and will expand business opportunities for them to reach new buyers across all industry segments.”

Building 3 will allow significant growth opportunities for sectors of the industry that World Market Center already caters to, such as furniture and decorative accessories, in addition to offering major expansion opportunities for lighting and floor coverings, as well as fostering the introduction of new segments such as textile and floral/seasonal goods.

“The third building is by far the most diverse line-up and will make World Market Center and its suppliers a true ‘one-stop shopping’ destination for buyers,” said Dave Palmer, General Manager of World Market Center. “In the next few years, Las Vegas Market will be poised to deliver the entire spectrum of products in all segments.”

The layout of the third building is as follows: open-daily Design Center showrooms on Floors 1, 3, 4 and 5; home accent, accessories and seasonal merchandise on Floors 6 and 7; floor coverings goods including rugs, carpets, hardwood, tile, stone and laminate on Floors 8 and 9; lighting showrooms including portable and fixtures on Floors 10 and 11; furniture showrooms with an emphasis on high-end goods and contemporary sector on Floors 12 through 16. Each floor will be connected by sky bridges to Building 2 and 1.

“The first three buildings are configured in such a way that if one segment of the home furnishings industry has greater demand, the segment can expand vertically into new floors as well as horizontally into new showrooms in adjacent buildings,” said Babs Blair, Director of Leasing for World Market Center. “Manufacturers of a particular segment can be placed appropriately to create an efficient marketplace, keeping the segments together and enhancing the buyers’ experience in terms of shopping by category.”

Building 3 will feature a contemporary architectural design and boasts many state-of-the-art technologies, amenities and conveniences. Each level of the building, totaling 140,000 square feet each, offers open, easy to walk floor plans with optimum racetrack circulation as well as sky bridges connecting to other buildings. Rounding out the amenities of the building are “smart” building technologies, wi-fi access, full service cafes, internet lounges, ample parking, easy access loading docks, freight elevators and much more.

Phase 2, currently under construction and opening for the January 2007 market, is an impressive 1.6 million square feet, 16-story structure and is the largest non-gaming construction project underway in the city of Las Vegas. “Building 2 is fully leased and is a well-anchored building with very strong companies and larger showrooms across the board,” according to Blair.

The 57-acre integrated campus, when completed, will boast eight buildings totaling 12 million square feet, making the World Market Center the largest trade complex in the world. World Market Center’s managing partners Jack Kashani, Shawn Samson along with The Related Companies, LP will continue to oversee the highly-experienced management, construction, leasing and operations team. The development team for Phase 3 will include Jerde Partnership International as lead design architects, JMA Architecture Studios as executive architects, in addition to many other experienced subcontractors and members of the trade.