Furniture mart will include hotel, homes

Wednesday, March 7, 2001 | 11:36 a.m.

Plans for a sprawling furniture trade center on old downtown Union Pacific Railroad property have been submitted to the city of Las Vegas for approval and have been expanded to include future hotel and residential development.

However, a spokeswoman for the World Market Center mega-furniture showroom project said today that the company is not getting into the resort business, but rather submitted the hotel plans to meet the city's requirement for mixed-use development.

"I cannot tell you whether it has been decided what kind of a hotel it will be, but, because the land is zoned PD (planned development), the city wanted to see the different uses," project spokeswoman Dana Pretner said.

The plans for the multi-tower, 7.5 million-square-foot complex over 57 acres were submitted Feb. 22 and are scheduled to come before the Las Vegas Planning Commission March 22. The City Council could get a look at them in April.

Also, the developer of the $750 million project, Furniture Mart Enterprises LLC, announced this week that the architect chosen for the project is The Jerde Partnership International, a Southern California firm that has been in business since 1977.

"They demonstrated more than any other firm a true understanding of the global scope of our project," managing partner Shawn Samson said. "Jerde has an unparalleled track record in executing large scale master plans."

Jerde project designer John Simones said his company's design of the buildings include a terra cotta color scheme and metallic glass panels "that reflect the changing colors of the desert, sun and sky."

Water fixtures, interior and exterior landscaping and a central atrium will be part of the project.

"Designing an industry-specific project on the magnitude of World Market Center is an exciting opportunity," Simones said. "The conceptual challenges in the design of this innovative, large-scale project parallel our approach ... to bring all of our creativity and experience to bear."

Groundbreaking for the $100 million first phase -- a 10-story tower including two stories of parking -- is scheduled for next year at Grand Central Parkway near Alta Drive. Opening of the tower showroom, which will market manufacturer wholesale merchandise to retail industry buyers, is slated for April.

The project includes World Market Center Towers, the World Market Convention Center, World Trade Fair and World Pavilions. The developers say the goal is for the project to be the ultimate showcase for every segment of the home furnishings industry.

World Market Center Towers will include 4 million square feet of permanent showrooms featuring home and office furnishings. The Convention Center will include 1 million square feet of temporary exhibit space that will be made available for other trade shows that would draw visitors to the 120,000 hotel rooms in downtown Las Vegas.

The World Trade Fair will have 1 1/2 million square feet of space for sub-market business of the home furnishing industry, including lighting, floor coverings, area rugs and other home accessories. World Pavilions will feature 1 million square feet to display furnishings from around the world.