World Market Center
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The World Market Center at 495 S. Grand Central Parkway in Las Vegas, Nevada is intended to be the United States', and possibly the world's, preeminent furniture wholesale showroom and market place.
The most successful similar operation, the International Home Furnishing Market, is in High Point, North Carolina. Other similar venues are Chicago's Merchandise Mart and the San Francisco Mart.
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[edit] History
In 2002, the project was announced on a lot adjacent to the City of Las Vegas' 61 acre (247,000 m²) redevelopment parcel, as an 8 building, 7½ million ft² (697,000 m²) facility designed by Jon Jerde.
In 2005, the Center announced plans for completion of an expansion increasing the space to a total of 12 million ft² (1.11 km²) complete with skywalks between all buildings on all levels.
The center opened the first building in May 2005 with 1.3 million ft². The first tenant, JBS Envionments, moved in on June 1, 2005.
The first show, July 21-25, 2005, was so overbooked that it used space in three Pavilions (huge tent structures) and the Las Vegas Convention Center. 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, 1.6 million ft² building 2 in 2005 with completion scheduled for January, 2007.
Construction on the 16 story, 2.1 million ft² building 3 started on September 27, 2006 with completion scheduled for July, 2008. The first 4 floors will be part of the Las Vegas Design Center.
[edit] Design and layout
All 8 of its buildings would be on a single site with enclosed skywalks connecting all buildings on the site.
One advantage that Las Vegas has for a showroom of this caliber, is the availability of hotel rooms, many near the marketplace. The International Home Furnishing Market has to provide transportation to buyers from remote towns. The Center will make the visit more productive for the buyers, as they will spend much less time getting to the various showrooms.
[edit] Las Vegas Market
Las Vegas Market is the name of the major trade show hosted by the World Market Center. Currently the Las Vegas Market is held twice a year. The winter show, is held in January and the summer show is held in July.
The 2006 shows will continue to use the temporary pavilions and add the Mandalay Bay Convention Center for additional space.
[edit] Las Vegas Design Center
When not hosting the Las Vegas Market or other trade shows, selected portions of the center are open as showrooms for interior decorators. These spaces are called the design center and will run through all of the buildings on the lower floors.
