Editorial: Furniture mart will help local economy

Monday, Aug. 12, 2002 | 8:52 a.m.

It's good news that local furniture retailers and the developers of the proposed furniture mart have settled their differences. Local concerns over how the furniture mart, formally known as World Market Center, would dispose of furniture after trade shows held up a City Council vote last week on an agreement that would excuse half of the World Market Center's property tax over the next 20 years.

Local furniture dealers had a legitimate concern. They worried that after product shows World Market Center would invite the public over to buy furniture that had been on display, and that the prices would be so low that their sales would plummet. After the vote was postponed, long meetings between the local dealers and World Market Center went well, and an agreement governing such sales was reached. We hope the agreement holds up -- there are still some details to be worked out -- because the furniture mart will be an asset to Las Vegas.

Even with the rebate, the city can expect to receive about $40 million in extra property taxes over the next 20 years. The mart will employ hundreds of people during construction on its 57 acres of former Union Pacific Railroad property. The total construction cost at completion will be $1 billion. The mart will attract thousands of business people every year -- people who will need a hotel room, food and, we predict, some Las Vegas-style entertainment. Sounds to us like a real pick-me-up for the downtown economy.