The World Jewelry Center (WJC), which is being built in Las Vegas has received a go ahead from the Las Vegas City Council, during the council meeting on January 9, 2008. The Council has approved the WJC’s Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA), which outlines the requirements and conditions for Probity International to purchase land for the WJC. The Council also approved the Owner Participation Agreement (OPA), which mentions the terms under which the developer and the City Redevelopment Agency will share the property tax revenues generated by the WJC over the next twenty years.

At the meeting, Probity International Corporation President and CEO Robert Zarnegin, said “We appreciate the cooperative efforts of City officials and the Las Vegas City Council’s approvals of our business terms, which will propel our project forward. Our team, together with the City, has worked hard to come to agreement on terms for the WJC, a project that will create thousands of non-gaming jobs, and bring financial rewards to the City.”

The WJC Managing Director Bill Boyajian expained that the WJC will be one-of-a-kind jewellery industry hub in the western hemisphere, “with a magnificent tower comprising both wholly-owned, class-A office condominiums and ultra-luxury residential condominiums, a retail center open to the public, advanced security systems, and a designated Foreign Trade one, jewelry business leaders will have many strategic advantages, with the added benefit of the Las Vegas location.”

“This will be an important part of Union Park, along with the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the Charlie Palmer Hotel, and the Access Medical-Kimpton Hotel projects, that together will create an exciting experience for everyone who visits or does business there,” said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman.