No rebate, no furniture mart

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 | 8:50 a.m.

The 57-acre furniture mart pegged for downtown could be in jeopardy if the Las Vegas City Council fails to approve an agreement that would give the developer a 50 percent rebate on property taxes over 20 years.

Attorney Mark Fiorentino, who represents the World Market Center, or furniture mart, told the council Wednesday that center executives would quite possibly walk away from the project if they weren't given adequate compensation for investing $1 billion in a project that would bring a new industry to the Las Vegas Valley.

With their redevelopment cheerleader, Mayor Oscar Goodman, absent from the meeting to attend a conference in Washington, D.C., council members voted to wait until the Nov. 7 meeting to decide about a tax break.

The agreement has been delayed five times since August, which has frustrated Fiorentino and Shawn Samson, a managing partner of the World Market Center.

The council in May approved the first phase of the 57-acre home furnishings trade center -- a 10-story, 1 million-square-foot showroom proposed for the corner of Grand Central Parkway and Bonneville Avenue.

The proposal would have the city rebate 50 percent of the project's property taxes over 20 years. The city would not have to provide any up-front costs and would not refund the taxes until the project met certain milestones.

Citing concerns with the amount of compensation, several city officials, including the mayor, have discussed the possibility of a 10 percent rebate. Fiorentino said anything less than 50 percent would not cover project costs and would make the project unprofitable.

"Ten percent is unacceptable and will probably result in the project going away," Fiorentino said.

The developers estimate that the project will generate $80 million in new property taxes over 20 years, which would result in the developers receiving $40 million back to reimburse them for their up-front costs.

Deputy City Attorney Steven Houchens, though, estimates that the project will generate closer to $60 million to $70 million over 20 years.

When fully developed by 2007, the World Market Center would consist of multiple towers with 7.5 million square feet of showrooms for home furnishings.