LWC Inc. and LMN Architects, a large national firm with convention center design experience, will partner on renovation plans for the 48-year-old Dayton structure, pending a successful contract negotiation with the CFA.
Pam Plageman, the CFA’s executive director, said once the contract is signed, the team of architects will be working fast to put a master plan together within 90 days.
“We are somewhat of an introverted building and we need to be extroverted,” she said.
Four of six architectural firms known nationally for convention center work vied for the job. Three of them partnered with local firms on proposals and two were brought in to give the CFA presentations before the board’s decision, Plageman said.
Monita said it won’t be the first time LWC Inc. will work to breathe new life into a community landmark. The local firm was the architect on the Main Dayton Metro Library as well as other library branches, worked on the Dayton Art Institute’s centennial project and the modernization of the Dayton International Airport.
LMN Architects, LWC’s national partner, provided the design work for the renovation and expansion of the Greater Columbus Convention Center, a $140 million project completed in 2017. Earlier, the company designed the convention center in Cleveland and worked on the expansion and renovation of Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.
The city of Dayton owned and operated the Dayton Convention Center before transferring ownership to the CFA earlier this year. Completed in 1973, the facility has 150,000 square feet of meeting space, a 77,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 22 meeting rooms and spaces, three ballrooms and a theater.
The CFA is working through a four-phase plan through 2024 to modernize the downtown building facing Fifth Street between Main and Jefferson streets. Work at the Dayton Convention Center over the last several months has focused on critical repairs and deferred maintenance. But bigger changes will be coming, Plageman said.
Monita said construction costs would be weighed by the CFA’s revenue and determined through the master plan process.
Also on Thursday, the board approved engaging Bricker & Eckler LLP to work with Robert W. Baird & Co. to help guide the authority in securing financing for the upcoming renovation.
Exterior work could begin as early as 2022 and may include the addition of a roof over the main entrance, replacing the circular design feature that’s there now. One goal is to make the street level more active, with a café featuring outdoor seating.
Discussions have also centered on doing away with street curbs in front of the convention center to forge a closer connection with the Radisson-Dayton and Levitt Pavilion, Plageman said.
“The new design … would make it feel like it’s one complex,” she said. “When a guest comes in, and we have large festivals or groups, they really feel like it’s one experience.”
So far this year, 41 events have been booked at the convention center, and 47 are already on the books for next year.
The CFA’s ability to collect a 3% lodging tax to fund improvements kicked in at the beginning of March, bringing in $180,930 that month. The CFA has seen a month-over-month increase in the amount of lodging taxes collected, rising to $194,121 in April and to $221,729 for May with not all yet collected, according to CFA records.
The uptick in revenue is a reflection of increased travel, Plageman said.
“It means more people are getting more confident about traveling and staying in hotels,” she said. “That’s very promising.”
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