World Jewelry Center officials joined Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman and other Las Vegas and Nevada representatives on April 24 for the groundbreaking ceremony of Union Park, home of the World Jewelry Center.
Union Park is one of the largest city-sponsored master-planned developments in the U.S.
Robert Zarnegin (pictured), president and chief executive officer of Probity International Corp. and principal of the WJC, and Bill Boyajian, WJC managing director, led the WJC contingent. The event marked the commencement of phase-one infrastructure construction for the 11-million-square-foot, mixed-use master-planned community.
“Union Park is quickly moving from paper to reality,” said Goodman. “It’s a place that is being created for those who live and work in southern Nevada, yet it’s so exciting it will attract many of the city’s 40-million-plus visitors.”
Ward 5 Councilman Ricki Y. Barlow, representing the area where Union Park is located, said, “The groundbreaking of phase one of improvements for Union Park is the beginning of a renaissance.”
The $7.8 million in infrastructure improvements now under way includes site grading and roadway excavation; drainage features and structures; parking lots, access roads, and public streets; curbs and gutters; sewers, water mains and fire hydrants; dry utilities including gas, telephone, cable and fiber optic; traffic signs, signals, and street markings.
“We’re thrilled to see the groundbreaking for Union Park and the building of streets and tree-lined sidewalks getting under way,” Zarnegin told attendees. These are very important steps before the start of construction on the World Jewelry Center.”
WJC Managing Director Bill Boyajian added, “Union Park’s diverse cultural appeal and amenities will add a lot of prestige to the World Jewelry Center’s reputation as a global marketplace for gems and jewelry. Both the trade and consumers will no doubt find this to be a part of Las Vegas that they will want to visit again and again.”
Other speakers representing Union Park partners at the ceremony included Maureen Peckman, chief executive officer of Keep Memory Alive Foundation, representing the Frank Gehry–designed Lou Ruvo Brain Institute; Don Snyder, chairman, and Myron Martin, president, both of $500-million Smith Center for the Performing Arts; Dr. Warren Volker representing ACCESS Medical; Dmitri Vazelakis, chief operating officer of Forest City; and Charlie Palmer, who is building The Charlie Palmer, a 400-room boutique hotel.
For more information on the World Jewelry Center, call 1-310-888-8864, e-mail info@worldjewelrycenter.com, or visit www.worldjewelrycenter.com.
(Photo Courtesy of Union Park.)
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