Shop 'til you Drop
By Tony Illia

Shopaholics, there's a massive furniture and interior design complex taking shape in downtown Las Vegas on the site of an old railroad yard.

The new $1 billion, 7.5 million-sq.-ft. "World Market Center" is rising up at Grand Central Parkway and Bonneville Avenue.

Designed by The Jerde Partnership International of Los Angeles, with JMA Architecture Studios of Las Vegas as executive architect, the six-building, 57-acre complex calls for a two-story, 1-million- sq.-ft. convention center, a 1.5- million-sq.-ft. world trade fair, and a 1-million-sq.-ft. world pavilion, among other features. The multi-year undertaking will be built in seven phases.

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Upon build-out, World Market Center is expected to be the largest and most comprehensive home furnishings complex in the West. It's being touted by city officials as a key catalyst to downtown's redevelopment, occupying the former Union Pacific railroad yard. The project is expected to attract 1.7 million visitors annually to the area.

"The home furnishings industry generates more than $120-billion- a-year, far larger than the gaming industry," said David Palmer, the World Market Center''s general manager.

The general contractor, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. of Baltimore, is currently at work on the initial $200 million phase, which consists of a 10-story, 1.3-million-sq.-ft. building that will house 224 companies and 1,000 employees. Whiting-Turner's Jim Dinofrio is the project manager.

The steel-framed building sets atop 6-ft.-wide, 8-ft.-deep strip footings and a 5-in.-thick foundation slab that combine to form a 130,000-sq.-ft. footprint. The foundation required 56,000- cu. yds. of excavation and 2,300-cu. yds. of concrete. Locally based Mad Dog Heavy Equipment is the earthwork contractor.

"The 276-ft.-tall structure is supported six concrete sheer walls, measuring 30- ft.- wide, along with steel wide-flange columns set 30 -ft. from center," said Jim Reid, director of construction for the center.

The double-height first floor, which has a 20-ft. clearance, will act as a year-round design center for for home furnishings, decorative accessories, lighting, area rugs, accent furniture and wall decor.

Flexsteel Industries Inc. of Dubuque, Iowa, Lane Home Furnishings, Tupelo, Miss., and Broyhill Furniture Industries Inc., Lenoir, N.C., are among the center's tenants.
The remaining floors, built from concrete over metal decking, each have a 16-ft. clearance. Six cranes are being used to maneuver the materials into place, the largest of which is a 9,300-ton crawler crane. Dielco Crane Service Inc. and Jake's Crane, Rigging and Transport International, both of Las Vegas, are the equipment suppliers.

Pleasanton-based Herrick Corp. is the steel supplier/erector, and Isaac Construction Co. of Las Vegas is the concrete contractor.

The building will have a unique exterior consisting of a 40,000-sq.-ft. cantilevered semi-circle built with painted aluminum panels, which will create dramatic entrance and help to visually break-up the building's its massive size.

"Structural steel was used in order to cantilever each floor, giving the façade its architectural effect," said Steve Schiller, director of operations for Las Vegas-based Martin & Peltyn Inc., the project's structural engineer.

The aluminum panel wall slopes so that each floor extends slightly past the building's edge to support the façade. The semi-circle cantilevers a maximum of 13 -ft. from the top, tapering in towards the center. The remaining façade consists of EIFS paneling with punch windows as well as a triangular- shaped aluminum panels at the building sides.

It will take roughly 300 construction workers, 9,000 tons of structural steel, and 56,000- cu. yds. of concrete to finish the center's World Market Center's first building by June 1. Whiting-Turner and JMA Architecture Studios are working as a design-build team for the tenant improvements.

The project developers, Jack Kashani and Shawn Samson, are already preparing for the center's next phases, including a 15-story, 1.5 million- sq.-ft. second building, planned to open in 2006; and an 11-story, 1.2-million-sq.-ft. third building.

"Sky bridges" at all levels above the first floor will connect the buildings. There will also be water features, interior and exterior landscaping, and a central atrium that will allow plenty of interaction space for visitors.

"The first building is completely sold- out," Samson said. "We have the demand and there''s already a waiting list to get into the next phase."

A 200-tenant, 300,000-sq.-ft. trade pavilion consisting of temporary tents will be set -up behind the new building to accommodate tenants as construction begins on the next phases. Each successive building is tentatively scheduled to begin within one year of the last one until the complex is complete.

"[We] have created a new strata of business diversification to the local economy that will positively impact our community," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. ""Las Vegas will become the furniture industry mecca and projects like this prove that downtown Las Vegas is the place to be."

The World Market Center will create more than 35,000 direct and indirect jobs, generating over $1.5 billion in additional personal income and $60 million in local and state tax revenues, according to the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"With thousands of new jobs, this facility represents a significant impact on the local economy," said Somer Hollingsworth, president and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority. "We feel it is a very compatible extension of our economic development program."

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