World Market Center is an integrated home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom and convention complex in Las Vegas, a place where designers and manufacturers lease space to show off their latest products to retailers and other wholesale buyers. World Market Center LLC last week completed its largest event to date, with exhibitors occupying more than 3.8 million sf of permanent and temporary exhibit space in the region. The event included 250 new exhibitors and more than 50,000 attendees, including a 27% jump in the number of international buyers.

The World Market Center complex was conceived by real estate developers Jack Kashani and Shawn Samson in 1999. In 2004, they brought on the Related Cos. LP of New York to help finance the development. The 1.3-million-sf first building opened in July 2005. The $345-million, 1.6-milion-sf second building was completed at the start of 2007. The third building, the largest yet at 2.1 million sf, got under way in October with about 25% of the building having been preleased.

The developers now say that "virtually every space in Building C has been spoken for through signed leases and commitments." In addition to new leases signed or being negotiated by the likes of Lexington, Sligh Furniture, Mohawk, Mark Roberts, and Pacific Coast Lighting, the mix in the third building includes companies such as AICO, Standard, and Coaster that will relocate from the first two buildings in order to expand their showrooms, according to the developers.