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WJC to break ground April 2008

By Susan Thea Posnock
June 01, 2007

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Las Vegas—As thousands of jewelry retailers and exhibitors converge in Las Vegas for the start of the JCK show, managers of the World Jewelry Center (WJC)—a business hub for both the trade and consumers—provided an update on plans to create a permanent presence here by as early as 2010.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, WJC Managing Director Bill Boyajian said he was hopeful the center could officially break ground on the project—which would include a 60-story business-to-business trade tower, educational center, condominiums and a three-story retail center—by next April.

Boyajian has been on a globetrotting tear, signing companies to letters of intent to participate in the project.

"We have now amassed 80 participating firms," he said.

That represents 25 percent of the total square feet for the center, which is ahead of the goal he said they hoped to reach within a year, after officially launching last October.

Among the roll call of international companies are Chow Tai Fook Group, Daniel K, the Gemological Institute of America, Hearts On Fire, International Gemological Laboratories, Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co, Simplex Diam and Tara and Sons Inc.

The amenities being offered include state-of-the art security, whole-ownership condo units, a Foreign Trade Zone, secure shipping and receiving, and gem grading and educational facilities.

The retail component will cater to middle-market jewelry and related outlets, and include a museum and exhibition center.

The project is the brainchild of developer Robert Zarnegin, president and chief executive officer of Probity International Corp., and is being enthusiastically supported by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman, who spoke at the event.

"The idea is the perfect idea," Goodman said. "It marries Las Vegas and its glitz and its glamour with an industry that is glitz and glamour."

He noted that the project will be located in what he calls "the jewel of the desert," Union Park, which is a master-planned community in downtown Las Vegas. The WJC is expected to fill about 5.2 acres of the 61-acre area, one of the largest downtown urban-development projects in the country with office, retail and residential space.

The press conference took place as the jewelry industry attends the JCK show, which began today and will be a barometer of the health of the industry looking toward the holiday season. The Couture show, which began on Wednesday, reported steady traffic with show organizers noting positive feedback from both retailers and exhibitors.
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