World Market Center
Encyclopedia
World Market Center Las Vegas, located at 495 S. Grand Central Parkway in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, is a 5000000 square feet (464,515.2 m²) showcase for the home and hospitality contract furnishings industry in downtown Las Vegas.

World Market Center currently has about 6000000 square feet (557,418.2 m²) of space. Originally, developers planned for the World Market Center project in Las Vegas to have more than 12000000 square feet (1,114,836.5 m²) of exhibit space in 8 buildings on 57 acres (23.1 ha), making it one of the largest mega-campuses of showroom and convention complex in the industry.

History

In 2002, the developers announced that the project was to be built on a lot adjacent to the City of Las Vegas' 61 acres (24.7 ha) redevelopment parcel, as an eight building, 7500000 sq ft (696,772.8 m²) facility designed by Jon Jerde
Jon Jerde
Jon Jerde is an American architect based in Venice, California, Founder & Chairman of , a design architecture and urban planning firm that pioneered the concept of placemaking and "experience architecture;" and has created multiple award-winning commercial developments around the globe...

. The square footage of the main building alone is greater than that of the Empire State Building in New York City.
In 2005, WMCLV announced plans for completion of an expansion increasing the space to a total of 12000000 sq ft (1,114,836.5 m²) complete with skywalks between all buildings on all levels.

Building A opened in May 2005 with 1300000 sq ft (120,774 m²).

The first show, July 21-25, 2005, was so overbooked that it used space in three Pavilions (huge tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...

 structure
Structure
Structure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of society...

s) and the Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas Convention Center
The Las Vegas Convention Center is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in Las Vegas, Nevada....

. These tent structures have been declared by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest tents in the U.S.

Construction started on the 16 story, 1600000 sq ft (148,644.9 m²) Building B in 2005. It opened in January 2007.

Construction on the 16 story, 2100000 sq ft (195,096.4 m²) Building C started on September 27, 2006 and completed July, 2008. The first 2 floors are part of the Las Vegas Design Center.

At a construction cost of $550 million, Building C stands with 130000 sq ft (12,077.4 m²) on each floor, which is nearly 30 percent larger than those in Buildings A and B. In all, more than 400 showrooms comprise Building C. In conjunction with the opening of Building C, a $60-million, seven-story parking garage with 175000 sq ft (16,258 m²) on each level also opened in July 2008. The parking garage accommodates 3,600 vehicles and allow for up to 15 levels.

In 2008, World Market Center put plans on hold to finish its complex of buildings, originally slated to be about 12 million square feet and set for completion by 2013.
On May 3, 2011, Bain Capital, Oaktree Capital Management, Related Cos. and other investors announced the formation of International Market Centers, a venture that combines properties in High Point and Las Vegas and would control 11.5 million square feet of showroom space. At that point, two of the World Market Center buildings and two of the High Point showroom complexes had been in receivership for several months.
World Market Center is owned by International Market Centers, L.P. (IMC) is the world’s largest operator of showroom space for the furnishings, home décor and gift industries.

Buildings

  • Phase One (Building A)-1300000 sq ft (120,774 m²), 10-story building; opened July 2005
  • Phase Two (Building B)-1600000 sq ft (148,644.9 m²), 16-story building; opened January 2007
  • Phase Three (Building C)-2100000 sq ft (195,096.4 m²), 16-story building; opened July 2008

Design and layout

All eight of its buildings will be on a single site with enclosed skywalks connecting all buildings on the site. Buildings 3, 4, and 5 will be butted up against each other in order to create one building, and a parking structure will be built behind building 3 in order to supply more parking for buyers and exhibitors.

Las Vegas Market

Las Vegas Market is the name of the major trade show hosted by the World Market Center Las Vegas. Currently the Las Vegas Market is held twice a year. Las Vegas Market features a vast array of product offerings across all categories, including furniture, accessories, gift, lighting, home textile, rugs, floor coverings and more.

Las Vegas Design Center

When not hosting the Las Vegas Market or other trade shows, the first two floors of Building A and the first three floors of Building C are open as showrooms for interior designers and the general public. These spaces are called the Las Vegas Design Center (LVDC) and contain more than 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²) of permanent showrooms, which are open Monday – Friday. The LVDC offers year-round access to a global selection of furniture, fabrics, lighting, floor coverings, wall décor and accessories.

Part of Las Vegas Design Center’s ongoing programming includes the First Friday series, a monthly A&D event featuring top design and arts and cultural speakers from around the world. The Design Icon award is part of the Design Series and celebrates modern-day design legends and gives them a platform to share their stories and inspire others. The Winter 2010 Las Vegas Market Design Icon will be Christopher Guy Harrison
Christopher Guy Harrison
Christopher Guy Harrison is a British luxury furniture designer who is well-known for fusing classicism with modernism in his designs. He is the founder and head designer of the international furnishings brand Christopher Guy...

. Previous Design Icon honorees include Juan Montoya, Vicente Wolf, Roger Thomas, Vladimir Kagan and Larry Laslo.

Gallery


Image:WMCLV GrandPlaza.jpg||World Market Center Las Vegas Grand Plaza depicting Buildings A, B and C
Image:WMCLV aerial.jpg|Aerial of World Market Center Las Vegas 5100000 sq ft (473,805.5 m²) campus featuring Buildings A, B and C, along with a Parking Garage

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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