World Market Center’s Building C reaches skyward

Excitement is mounting within the home furnishings industry as the third building of WorldMarket Center prepares to take its place on the ever-expanding downtown Las Vegas skyline.

The 2.1-million-square-foot building is scheduled for completion in 2008 and will debut with the Summer Las Vegas Market, taking place July 28 through August 1, 2008. Upon completion of Building C, the first three structures of WMC will showcase 5 million square feet of permanent showrooms. WMC will have invested more than $1.1 billion in the campus by the time the third building opens.

“The addition of Building C signifies a major milestone for World Market Center’s growing campusand will feature a significant roster of leading brands,” said Babs Blair, director of leasing. “With World Market Center quickly becoming the preferred market for U.S. and international buyers, the demand among manufacturers continues to escalate. We are pleased to have commitments and interest for the entire building.”

With virtually every space in Building C spoken for through signed leases and commitments, WMC will welcome new companies and industry leaders across all categories. A select few include Lexington, Sligh Furniture, Mohawk, Mark Roberts and Pacific Coast Lighting. There are also significant showroom expansions planned among existing WMC tenants such as AICO, Standard and Coaster, among others.

At a construction cost of $550 million, the architecturally iconic Building C will stand at 16 floors with 130,000 square feet on each floor — nearly 30 percent larger than those in Buildings A and B. In all, more than 400 showrooms are anticipated for Building C. In conjunction with the opening of Building C, a $60-million, seven-story parking garage with 175,000 square feet on each level will also open. The parking garage will accommodate 3,600 vehicles and allow for up to 15 levels.

The third showroom structure on the eight-building campus will allow significant growth opportunities for sectors of the industry that WMC already caters to, such as furniture and decorative accessories. In addition, it will offer major expansion opportunities for lighting and floor coverings, as well as foster the introduction of new segments such as textile and floral and seasonal goods.

Building C’s lineup includes the Las Vegas Design Center, open daily on floors one through five that will cater to interior designer and contract specifiers and feature high-end furniture, textiles and fabrics; floors six, seven and eight feature home accent, accessory and rug showrooms; floor nine will introduce the holiday, seasonal and floral category; floor 10 will feature lighting products, both portables and fixtures; and floors 11 through 16 will boast an impressive lineup of top furniture manufacturers and brands.

“We are bringing synergistic industry segments together in Building C,” Blair said, “and we expect to see new buyers and expanded channels of distribution for our tenants.”

New names to Building C
Spanning levels 11 through 16, furniture floors will dominate Building C. Case goods, dining, bedroom, upholstery, leather, home office and juvenile products will be showcased by some of the furniture industry’s most prominent and up-and-coming brands such as Lexington, Sligh Furniture, Huntington Furniture, Meubles Canadel Furniture and Inzane/Avenue Six.

Building C’s 10th floor will allow expansion opportunities for the lighting industry. Showrooms here will feature everything from the finest crystal fixtures, portables, fans and decorative accessories. Such recognized companies as Pacific Coast Lighting, Bel Air Lighting and Minka Lighting will illuminate the 10th floor.

The building’s ninth floor will introduce the holiday, floral and seasonal category, with such major players as Mark Roberts, Katherine’s Collection, Celmol Inc. and Lins International. Holiday trees and decor will be intertwined with floral showrooms and everything that goes along with floral, such as ribbon and other seasonal accessories.

When Building C opens, it will boast more than 600,000 square feet of home accessories and decor on three floors, and will represent a high-quality mix and variety of products. A sampling of home accent companies will include Eighteen Karat International Product Sourcing, Mystic Valley Traders, Uma Enterprises, Evergreen Enterprises and Merida Meridian.

These home accessory floors will also feature a concentration of distinguished floor covering tenants. Spanning the range of broadloom and area rugs, tenants will include Mohawk, Hellenic Rug Imports, Kas Oriental Rugs and Jaipur Rugs.

Las Vegas Design Center
With the opening of Building C in July 2008, an additional 540,000 square feet of Design Center space will bring Las Vegas Design Center to a staggering total of more than 1 million square feet, serving both the residential and hospitality design industries. New LVDC tenants will represent fabrics, wall covering, furniture, carpeting and rugs, lighting, specialty furniture, hard surface flooring and kitchen and bath specialty product, among other categories. Much of the product is custom-made to the designer’s specifications. The goal for the expansion of the design center is to attract resources in a broad range of categories, including residential, commercial and hospitality, at a wide range of price points.

“The Las Vegas Design Center will grow to offer designers everything they need for projects of any nature or scale, from the most expensive, ultra-luxe, custom-made products to more popularly priced and readily available items,” said William Grenewald, general manager of LVDC.

“We are targeting the major fabric, trim and wall covering houses; high-end custom case good and upholstery furniture companies; marble, tile and stone resources; kitchen appliances and kitchen cabinetry, as well as custom cabinetry for every room in the house. Lighting, antiques, fine art, wall decor and accessories all have a needed place in the design center mix.”

Expansions abound
As a direct result of the need to have larger showrooms to accommodate more new products, several existing tenants will be relocating to Building C and significantly expanding their commitment to World Market Center.

Coaster Furniture, known for its fine home furnishings and stylish office furniture, will increase its showroom from 13,429 square feet to 50,000 square feet — a 300 percent enhancement to its presence at WMC.

The inspiring, imaginative and elegant designs of Amini Innovation Corp. (AICO) will relocate to Building C and will expand its present 22,000-square-foot showroom to an impressive 55,000 square feet.

Standard Furniture will move from its 19,000-square-foot showroom in Building A to a 33,000-square-foot showroom in Building C. Todd Evans, vice president of sales and marketing for Standard Furniture, a family-owned and operated business since 1946 and provider of fine furnishings by Kathy Ireland Home and Grand Designs, said he is excited about his company’s plans to expand its presence at WMC.

Fun facts about Building C

• Building C brings the total square footage of permanent showrooms at WMC to 5 million square feet. That’s more square footage than the Sears Tower.
• Nearly 72,000 cubic yards of concrete will be used for Building C.
• Nine miles of rubber base will run along the edge of the carpet.
• Building C will use enough carpet to cover the Golden Gate Bridge.
• The exterior covers 500,000 square feet of surface.
• It would take nearly 330 average-sized adults holding hands to wrap around the base of Building C.
• Building C will include 34 escalators and 16 elevators.
• Building C would need 10 football fields to completely cover the building in grass.
• In the adjacent parking garage, also scheduled for completion in 2008, 60,000 cubic yards of concrete will cover 1.2 million square feet.