The convention center is trying to bounce back after being mostly shut down for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plageman has said the facility at 22 E. Fifth St. is expected to take in about $1.5 million in revenue in 2022 — or roughly 75% of 2019′s collections.
The Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority this week unanimously approved a master plan that board members and other local officials hope will completely change the look and feel of the aging convention center.
Under the plan, the exhibit hall, lobby and other areas will get new contemporary lighting, ceilings and wall finishes, and some spaces will get new carpets, said Brian Tennyson, principal with Washington state-based LMN Architects.
Escalators will be refurbished, restrooms will be upgraded and there will be new electrical and mechanical systems installed.
A new electronic message board will be installed to replace the existing sign, which stopped working.
The convention center hopes to have a new restaurant move into the first floor, with coffee early in the day and alcohol at later times for event crowds.
The main exhibit hall’s collapsible partition will be replaced, and a new one will be added that can create an 18,000-square-foot flex space to host banquets, trade shows, ceremonies, concerts and other types of events.
The walls can be retracted so that larger events can use the entire 68,000-square-foot exhibit hall, Tennyson said.
The Montgomery County Convention Facilities Authority’s funding comes from a new 3% lodging tax paid by people who stay at hotels and motels across the county.
The master plan budget calls for about 63% of renovation funds to go toward interior improvements and nearly one-third will be for infrastructure upgrades.
The remaining allocation (4.5%) will be put toward exterior improvements.
The convention center’s highly visible metal mesh sculpture at the main entrance will be removed and possibly scrapped or donated.
The current driveway and drop-off area at the entrance will be eliminated and converted into a pedestrian courtyard, likely featuring planters and places to sit.
“One of the key (changes) is cleaning up the front entry,” said John Fabelo, a partner and architect with LWC Inc. “When you look at it, you feel out of place as a person ... (it’s) reclaiming our front door, for pedestrians, for people, for activities.”
Above the entrance will be a new terrace, connected to an upper floor, that provides cover and a new rentable gathering space, Fabelo said.
The exterior of the building will be recoated, Fabelo said.
“There’s a whole new look to the exterior — there’s a new entry approach, there’s a people space there,” he said.
A new raised pedestrian crosswalk is proposed for East Fifth Street, to better connect the Radisson Hotel and the convention center at the street level.
An existing skywalk connects the convention center to the hotel and a city-owned parking garage.
Jacquelyn Powell, a member of the convention facilities authority, said the crosswalk will be a welcome addition because many pedestrians dangerously dart across Fifth Street mid-block to visit or leave the convention center.
The master plan plan calls for converting a ballroom into a pre-function space, and meeting rooms will be updated, while the theater and skywalk will benefit from light renovations, officials said.
Pre-function and lobby spaces on the center’s upper floors also will undergo significant renovations, and so will the VIP lounge.
The master plan prioritized certain projects because of funding limitations, meaning that some areas will undergo light renovations instead of major overhauls.
Thomas Whelley II, a member of the facilities authority board, said he thinks if there’s any money left over in the budget, it should be put toward improving the skywalk.
He said it is the first thing many visitors see, and its current condition makes a poor impression.
The next step in the renovation process is to hire a construction manager, and a request for proposals or qualifications should go out in the first quarter of 2022, Plageman said.
The first part of the renovation project will take about three years to finish, she said, and additional improvements may come later.
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