Marnell to build cargo complex at McCarran

Marnell Properties has been tapped to build a new cargo center at McCarran International Airport.

The 200,900-square-foot complex at Russell Road and Spencer Street will replace the airport's existing facility, which is being demolished to make room for a third terminal building.

The $1 billion, 14-gate Terminal 3 goes to bid early this month. The mammoth 1.87 million-square-foot building will equal six football fields laid end to end. It will be along Russell Road, which was realigned last year between Paradise Road and Eastern Avenue to make room for the new building.

"Terminal 3 will bring the added facilities and space Clark County needs to host millions of additional air travelers who visit our community as well as service our growing local population," said Rosemary Vassiliadis, deputy director of the Clark County Department of Aviation, which oversees McCarran International Airport. "It will complement what's already in place at McCarran."

Marnell Air Cargo Center calls for a 79,000-square-foot FedEx building and a 121,900-square-foot multitenant structure serving 15 air carriers, including United Parcel Service, DHL and Delta, which combined for 51.2 million pounds of cargo in 2007. The project's dual concrete tilt-wall buildings, on 20 acres, will store ground support equipment and sorting machinery.

In 2007, the airport saw 203.6 million pounds of cargo or 8.6 percent less than in 2006.

McCarran now has three cargo buildings totaling roughly 200,000 square feet, directly south of the new complex. Marnell Air Cargo Center hopes to improve circulation and operational efficiency through better design and improved technology. Designed by Marnell Architecture, the project is scheduled to break ground in the fourth quarter with completion in early 2010. Construction costs are still undetermined. A contractor has yet to be named. Demolition and move-ins are expected to occur in phases.

Marnell Air Cargo Center is expected to command between $15 to $18 per square foot in rent or roughly $3 million to $3.6 million a year under full occupancy.

Contact Business Press reporter Tony Illia at tonyillia@aol.com or 702-383-0249.