Starting next August, the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville will be closed for two years, during which the facility will be renovated and expanded by 37% to 200,000 sf in a $180 million project.
The extended closing has worried local businesses that depend on the convention center for customer traffic. However, the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau assured these businesses that conventions affected by the closing could occur in other locations in the city.
State officials, including Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Gov. Steve Beshear, recently released renderings of the renovation, for which EOP Architects handled the design and architectural work with the Chicago office of HOK. Those renderings show an open floor plan with a glass-enclosed design. A 40,000-sf ballroom will be added within the center’s existing footprint. The convention center’s 52 meeting rooms will be completely renovated, and the facility’s kitchen is also being overhauled. The exhibition space will be located on one floor, says Richard Polk, a Principal at Lexington, Ky.-based EOP.
The center’s new design is expected to improve navigation and pedestrian flow through the building. The design promotes energy and water conservation, and the project will pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver certification, according to Beshear’s office.
Beshear and Fischer see this project as essential to placing Louisville in the top tier of convention destinations in the country. Beshear said that 21 events are booked from the reopening of the convention center through the summer of 2023, six of which are new business and another six are returning only because the convention center will be larger.
Tourism produces $13.1 billion in annual economic impact and nearly $1.4 billion in tax revenue for Kentucky. The expanded and renovated convention center is expected to have an annual economic impact of more than $53 million, up from $43 million in recent years. It will support 1,050 hospitality and tourism jobs, up from 850 today.
Related Stories
| Aug 22, 2013
Sports Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest sports facility design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 21, 2013
First look: Petersen Automotive Museum's dramatic facelift
One of the world's largest automotive museums unveils plans for a stunning, sculptured metal exterior and cutting-edge interior upgrades.
| Aug 14, 2013
Green Building Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Jul 22, 2013
Hotel business continues to shine [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Despite some economic stressors, hotel operating fundamentals are poised to remain strong in 2013.
| Jul 22, 2013
Transportation Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from airport terminals and other transportation-related facilities, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 22, 2013
Convention Center Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from convention center projects, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 22, 2013
Cultural Facility Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from cultural facility projects, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, DPR, Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HOK, HDR top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
