Chicago Mart to Expand Gift Exhibitor Space
Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 7/1/2004
Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. (MMPI) will add 100,000 square feet of exhibit space to its Chicago Gift & Home Market by converting the seventh floor of the Merchandise Mart to Market Suites. Currently occupied by the Chicago Transit Authority, the seventh floor will be vacated in time for the January 2005 show. The Gift & Home Market will then encompass more than one million square feet, and feature 350 showrooms and 1,000 temporary exhibitors. Beckman's Handcrafted Gift Show will move from the second floor to the seventh in January 2005, and all temporary exhibitors will be located on floors seven and eight. The eighth floor will be renovated, access between the floors will be upgraded, and traffic flow will be improved. "We're thrilled to announce this latest expansion of the Chicago Gift & Home Market," said Joan Ulrich, v.p. of leasing and marketing. "It allows us to add new product categories to the excellent resources already in place." The official unveiling of the expanded space will take place January 22, 2005.
