The Beck Group has been chosen to serve the city of Irving as its owner's representative for the city's new Las Colinas Convention Center and Entertainment District projects. Construction of the mixed-use entertainment complex on a 40-acre development site in Las Colinas will be completed in three phases. The first phase is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2010, followed closely by the Entertainment Venue. The master plan calls for a third phase, which consists of a future convention center hotel.
The city is pursuing LEED certification for the facility. Austin Commercial is the construction manager for the convention center, which was designed by RMJM Hillier Architecture. Jacobs Carter Burgess serves as the civil engineer for the project; Datum Engineers as the structural engineer, and Vanderweil Engineers as the MEP Engineer.
The new 275,000-square-foot convention center will consist of a 50,000-square-foot Exhibit Hall that features a totally column-free trade show area. In addition, there will be 20,000 square feet for 20 conference/meeting rooms and a top-floor ballroom that includes a full-service kitchen.
The comprehensive $400-million-plus development plan includes a 275,000-square-foot conference and event center, 85,000 square feet of retail / restaurant space, a 3,500-5,000 seat entertainment theater, and structured parking for over 2,000 cars. The city expects the completed project to bring in an additional 4.5 million visitors to the Irving.
The Irving Convention Center is designed as two boxes, stacked and rotated to create cantilevered corners to provide shaded outdoor areas for visitors to use. The majority of the building will be surrounded in glass for natural light and curtained with a perforated copper façade that will age to a natural copper patina for both a unique appearance and reduced energy consumption.
