WORLD JEWELRY CENTER PROJECT UNVEILED TO JEWELRY INDUSTRY LEADERS
Tacy, Israel
30 October 2006
City of Las Vegas Officials in conjunction with Probity International Corporation have unveiled plans for one of the largest jewelry projects in the world, the approximately one-million square foot mixed-use World Jewelry Center (WJC).
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman was present alongside developer Robert Zarnegin and Bill Boyajian, former President of the Gemological Institute of America and current Managing Director of the WJC, to formally announce the project to the jewelry industry.
The World Jewelry Center will combine the corporate offices of several hundred domestic and international gem and jewelry companies in a trade tower that will be one of the tallest office buildings in Las Vegas along with a separate, free-standing gallery of retail jewelry stores with broad middle-market appeal. The WJC is planned to open for business in late 2009 to mid 2015.
The World Jewelry Center is being designed by award-winning Altoon & Porter Architects and the cornerstone will be an iconic, state-of-the-art office tower. Tenants will own their own subdivided space in the tower, which will also include meeting and exhibition facilities, several international restaurants, a private club and a fitness center. The top floors of the tower will be dedicated to luxury residential condominiums with panoramic views. The adjacent three-story retail jewelry center will have a world-class gem and jewelry museum and exhibition space open to the public. The retail center will be designed to educate and excite the general public about gems and jewelry by building confidence in the products designed and manufactured from around the globe.
“We’re very excited about this global project coming to our city. The World Jewelry Center will revolutionize the jewelry industry as well as change the way people and businesses view Las Vegas. The entire concept of the World Jewelry Center is very progressive and will fit in well with all the other innovative, international business projects coming to our city. The tower itself will change the face of the Las Vegas skyline and become a key landmark for the city,†says Mayor Goodman.
The Center will be built with every amenity and service in mind to make the WJC the world’s premier fully integrated, service-oriented business hub catering to international and domestic retailers, manufacturers, dealers, and wholesalers in the gem, jewelry and pearl industries. The WJC will include: state-of-the-art security; secure shipping and receiving; gem grading labs and educational facilities; trade associations; and plans for a dedicated Foreign Trade Zone. The WJC will be located in Downtown Las Vegas within the prominent master-planned community of Union Park.
“We look at the World Jewelry Center as adding value and synergy to the industry as a whole. We are building this world-class facility so that industry professionals and other major global centers will have another marketplace with which to do business more effectively and in real-time. To be well connected, to build business, and to enhance commercial opportunities, industry leaders will want to have offices here. I am pleased to say that many of the world’s leaders in multiple sectors of the trade have already signed up to join us. The WJC has attracted key trade leaders who span all industry sectors and international boundaries, creating an environment that will bring about new ideas and best practices that will only make our industry better. Our goal for the retail center mirrors that of the trade tower. We are focused on quality, integrity and value in building and enhancing consumer confidence. Our emphasis will be on public education, security, convenience, product differentiation, and a great buying experience. Nothing will be spared in meeting these objectives,†says Boyajian.
“Many people within the industry have asked me, ‘Why Las Vegas?’. Las Vegas is a crossroads that is well-known around the world. People love to travel here for both business and pleasure. A key reason for building this industry hub in Las Vegas is that the environment here is truly progressive and pro-business,†adds Zarnegin.
Probity International Corporation’s compelling reasons for choosing to develop the WJC concept in Las Vegas include: no state corporate, inventory or personal income tax; the ability to create a Foreign Trade Zone facility within the WJC; superior telecomm and utility infrastructure; Las Vegas hosted 40 million visitors in 2005, nationally and internationally; Las Vegas is one of the largest convention markets in the U.S. including the annual JCK Show, the world’s largest gem and jewelry exhibition; excellent regional, national, and international access; the success of the World Market Center, located proximate to the WJC, as the U.S. business hub for the furniture industry; and Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. in terms of population and jobs, and, as the entertainment capital of the world, is one of the most exciting places to be.
