Projects to Shine Spotlight on Downtown

September 2, 2003 - Long overshadowed by the newer, more glamorous Las Vegas Strip, downtown Las Vegas is poised to take back a bigger share of the spotlight.

Construction on the first phase of World Market Center, a complex serving the home furnishing industry, broke ground in March and is set to open in late 2004 with a 10-story tower comprising four million square feet of showrooms and an adjoining 300,000-square-foot Trade Pavilion designed for trade shows.

Expected to comprise more than 7.5 million square feet on 57 acres when three construction phases are completed, the complex also is slated to include a convention facility, exposition hall and resort hotel, the specifics of which have not yet been announced.

World Market Center also plans to host at least two international semi-annual trade fairs per year at the site, with the first two slated for January and July of 2005.

Just across the street from World Market Center, a $90 million shopping complex called Las Vegas Premium Outlets opened in July with such high-end tenants as Gucci, Armani, Coach and Polo Ralph Lauren. The complex, which is expected to draw 8 million visitors per year, eventually may be linked to the World Market Center by a pedestrian bridge.

Both World Market Center and the outlet mall are immediately adjacent to a 61-acre vacant parcel of land that the city of Las Vegas has earmarked for redevelopment with the goal of bringing new business and population to downtown. Proposals being entertained include office towers, condominiums, a city park and a sports stadium.

Meanwhile, the Fremont Street Experience, a popular visitor attraction featuring a light show projected onto an overhead canopy above a pedestrian promenade, is undergoing a major technological upgrade. The attraction, which can be rented as a venue for special events, is installing a new $16.5 million video-display system along its four-block promenade through the heart of downtown.

Among other encouraging news for downtown is recent approval from the Federal Transit Administration to begin final design and engineering work on a downtown extension of the monorail system currently under construction along the Las Vegas Strip.

The publicly financed extension, which will run north from the Strip to Fremont Street, is expected to cost $450 million and be ready by 2007. The privately financed Strip portion of the monorail is scheduled for completion early next year.

According to hospitality industry consultant Brian Gordon, principal with Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis, these upcoming developments could finally reverse what has been a long, tough challenge for downtown to win a meaningful share of the city's lucrative visitor market.

"Downtown has had a difficult time, but increased accessibility on the monorail will definitely help," Gordon said. "The key could be what happens to the 61 acres. If a new vitality is brought to downtown, it will bring in locals and visitors alike."

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Article Copyright ©: M. Lenhart, Meeting News