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
| Feb 17, 2014
Developer plans to 'crowdfund' extended stay hotel in Manhattan
Want to own a piece of Manhattan hotel real estate? Developer Rodrigo Nino is inviting individual investors to put up $100,000 each for his latest project, 17 John.
| Feb 14, 2014
First look: Kentucky's Rupp Arena to get re-clad as part of $310M makeover
Rupp Arena will get a 40-foot high glass façade and a new concourse, but will retain many of its iconic design elements.
| Feb 13, 2014
Extreme Conversion: Nazi bunker transformed into green power plant, war memorial
The bunker, which sat empty for over 60 years after WWII, now uses sustainable technology and will provide power to about 4,000 homes.
| Feb 7, 2014
Zaha Hadid's 'white crystal' petroleum research center taking shape in the desert [slideshow]
Like a crystalline form still in the state of expansion, the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center will rise from the desert in dramatic fashion, with a network of bright-white, six-sided cells combining to form an angular, shell-like façade.
| Jan 31, 2014
6 considerations for rehabbing student union buildings
Most colleges and universities feel pressure to offer the latest amenities in order to attract and retain the best and brightest students. While hauling in the bulldozer to create modern facilities is attractive in some regards, deciding to renovate can be just as effective and, in some cases, even preferable to new construction.
| Jan 30, 2014
How reverse engineering nature can spur design innovation
It’s not enough to copy nature. Today’s designers need a deeper understanding of environmental nuance, from the biome in.
| Jan 29, 2014
Notre Dame to expand football stadium in largest project in school history
The $400 million Campus Crossroads Project will add more than 750,000 sf of academic, student life, and athletic space in three new buildings attached to the school's iconic football stadium.
| Jan 28, 2014
16 awe-inspiring interior designs from around the world [slideshow]
The International Interior Design Association released the winners of its 4th Annual Global Excellence Awards. Here's a recap of the winning projects.
| Jan 28, 2014
Big Ten Conference opens swanky HQ and museum [slideshow]
The new mixed-use headquarters includes a museum, broadcast studios, conference facilities, office spaces, and, oh yeah, a Brazilian steakhouse.
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
