Las Vegas Market’s Leasing Team Grows World Market Center Promotes Babs Blair to Director of Leasing and Names Julie Schwartz as Leasing Manager

Furniture World Magazine

With a significant backlog of exhibitors interested in leasing space in new phases of World Market Center, added momentum is emerging from Las Vegas Market’s leasing team. Babs Blair has been promoted to director of leasing and Julie Schwartz has been hired as leasing manager. Schwartz joins Russell Blair, who is also a leasing manager for World Market Center. “We are thrilled to have Julie on our team. She is truly a leader in the industry and has the experience and background to propel the second phase of leasing to an accelerated level,” said Babs Blair. Schwartz comes to World Market Center with significant experience at Dallas Market Center (DMC) where she worked for 14 years. Before leaving DMC, she held the position of vice president of leasing for hard goods. In her new position with Las Vegas Market, Schwartz will be working from a Dallas office for World Market Center, where she will share responsibility for leasing of Phase Two of the project. Phase Two will total 1.6 million square feet on 15 floors. “I have been watching this dynamic new Market closely for the last few years, and am amazed by the success of Phase One, and the backlog of demand for new phases. The possibilities that are ahead for Phase Two – and beyond – are very exciting to me professionally,” said Schwartz, who grew up in the retail furniture business and attended markets as a young child. “Being able to get in on the ground floor of a project of this caliber, with such a quality team, is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Babs Blair, who started as a leasing manager at Las Vegas Market in 2001, will now function as director of leasing. Her responsibilities will include overseeing the leasing team, leasing new phases, and contributing to strategic design and planning for future buildings and markets. Before joining World Market Center, Blair has had successful background in the furniture, accessory and tradeshow development industry.  She served as director of leasing at the Showplace facility in High Point. Prior to that, she served as co-leasing director for DMC for 5 years, and general manager and leasing director for the Tupelo Furniture Market. Blair describes the current leasing effort for World Market Center as “very strong” and projects that Phase Two leasing will be highly successful. Furthermore, soon the leasing team will add its temporary venue into the mix – World Pavilions. To accommodate exhibitor requests for showroom space in the fully-leased Phase One, the temporaries will start leasing soon. World Pavilions will be open in conjunction with the first Las Vegas Market July 18-22, 2005.    World Market Center is an integrated home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom complex and convention center being developed in Las Vegas.  Phase One will span 1.3 million square feet of permanent showrooms and will showcase furniture, decorative accessories, lighting, area rugs, and related segments, as well as a Design Center open year-round to members of the trade.