LAS VEGAS WMC BUILDING THREE
TO HOUSE FLOOR COVERING CENTER
By Lissa Wyman
LAS VEGAS - Rugs, hard surface flooring and carpeting will have a centralized exhibit area when Building Three of the Las Vegas World Market Center is completed in late 2007, according to Jack Kashani, managing partner of the World Market Center.
The two million sq. ft. building will also house lighting, contract furniture and the floral industry, Kashani announced at the World Market Center news conference on Monday. Ground will be broken on the $415 million Building 3 in eight months, said Keshani.
It is the first building in the proposed eight-building campus which will be industry-specific. Buildings one and two have a mixture of product presentations on each floor.
Approximately one dozen rug companies are exhibiting this week at the Las Vegas Market. Major rug companies such as Nourison, Feizy and Surya have leased space in Building 2, scheduled for completion in January, 2007.
A meeting between with officials of the Oriental Rug Importers Association and potential rug tenants was scheduled for Tuesday to discuss details of the Building Three and the amount of space devoted to floor covering.
"I believe that the World Market Center can be a true West Coast home for the rug and floor covering business,€VbCrLf commented Nasser Rahmanan, president of Masterlooms, which has a ground floor showroom in Building One. "With many rug tenants centrally located in Building Three, the Las Vegas Market Center will be a destination for serious rug professionals in the west.€VbCrLf
Rahmanan said he expected the floor covering area of Building Three would encompass several floors of permanent showrooms and some temporary exhibit space, as well.
The new floor covering center will be a departure for the WMC. Until yesterday's announcement, rug showroom leases were being limited to only three per floor in an effort to present buyers with a broad mix of products.
Rug exhibitors have not been major targets of the WMC leasing staff until now. Despite the small number of rug showrooms, however, there is growing interest in the WMC.
"It seems the rug industry's place here is already pre-destined,€VbCrLf said Bill Ward, managing director of Obeetee in New York, who was in Las Vegas observing the market. "Obviously, the management here is making a go of this facility. They are creating a huge market for home furnishings. How it will affect the other market venues remains to be seen.€VbCrLf
The World Market Center will eventually encompass eight market buildings on a 57-acre campus. Jack Kashani said the entire complex will be completed in approximately eight years, well ahead of the original completion in 2015.
The WMC complex will eventually contain other non-mart buildings such as a hotel and restaurants, Kashani said.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman called the opening of the World Market Center a "defining moment in the history of the city of Las Vegas."
He noted that the 12 million sq. ft. WMC project is the city's largest non-gaming, non-entertainment project ever. "The World Market Center brings a different way of life to Las Vegas. The city will now become a world resource for the home furnishings business," said Goodman.