Furniture market expanding

Jennifer Shubinski

Friday, April 1, 2005 | 11:14 a.m.

World Market Center officials today announced plans to expand the furniture market to 12 million square feet of permanent and temporary showrooms -- doubling the project's cost to $2 billion from $1 billion. The original plan consisted of 7.5 million square feet of showrooms.

The new development plans call for the buildings to be constructed in eight phases on its 57-acre site with a completion date of 2015.

The first 1.3 million-square-foot building is nearing completion at Grand Central Parkway and Bonneville Avenue near downtown Las Vegas. Additional space has been leased at the Las Vegas Convention Center, bringing this summer's debut show to 2.5 million square feet of permanent and temporary exhibition space. The first Las Vegas market will run from July 25 to July 29.

Plans for the expansion include: Phases two and three of the project will total 3 million square feet, the fourth and fifth phases will total 3.2 million square feet and the final three buildings will be 1.5 million square feet each. All eight buildings will be connected with sky bridges at every level.

"Our growth plans are a result of buyers' and exhibitors' avalanche of support for the Las Vegas market," Jack Kashani, co-managing partner said in a news release. "We continue to be approached by multiple segments of the industry and are continuing our efforts to address the needs and wants of the industry.

When completed, the World Market Center will top the High Point furniture market, in High Point, N.C., in size. The High Point market is currently about 11.5 million square feet, according to the High Point Market Authority.