Every new development needs a hub—a reason for people to convene, search out entertainment, shop and dine. Convention centers are at the core of the nation’s mixed-use renaissance. Development blossoms around these centers, where thousands gather year after year and seek places to eat and relax in between meeting with their peers and enjoying world-class presentations.
Whether it’s an expansion of existing meeting space or a brand new facility, contractors face a large-scale task when it comes to building giant exhibit halls, hundreds of hotel rooms, water features and high-tech glass curtainwalls.
Despite an insecure economy, contractors remain in the midst of completing projects bid within the past five years, when many hotel and entertainment projects entered the pipeline. According to Lodging Econometrics, a consulting firm in Portsmouth, N.H., the hotel industry currently has 6,000 new hotels under development, with at least 2,000 already under construction.
The U.S. hotel industry recorded record revenues of $138 billion last year, with profits up 5.3 percent to $28 billion, according to The New York Times. But, analysts predict a drop of up to 20 percent in hotel profits in 2009.
"The current problems in the credit markets and the resultant slowdown in the economy have impacted a number of new projects that are being considered by public agencies as well as private developers," says Jack Rawlins III, vice president of Hardin Construction, Atlanta. The company has built more than 14 million square feet of convention centers, conference centers and adjacent hotels, including the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., and the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
"Because of reduced tax revenues and the tight credit market, funding for these types of projects is restricted and some projects that were under construction were placed on hold," Rawlins says.
Although a slowdown may be ahead, many contractors believe a rebound is likely, and this niche of the mixed-use market will remain a smart investment. In other words, projects are still on the table, but some developers are waiting to play their cards until credit conditions improve.
"Although there has been a reduction in the number of convention centers, conference centers and convention center hotels that are currently in design or construction, the credit market and the economy will eventually rebound and there will be a flood of new projects released for design and construction," Rawlins says.
If the past is any indicator, conference centers are a way for a contractor or design firm to make a name for itself by building an urban landmark around which more construction grows.
Like Hardin, contractors with past experience in this market will be the ones owners turn to when they want the job completed on a large scale and in a short time frame.
A Jewel in the Valley
With experience building four other convention centers, SpawGlass Contractors, Selma, Texas, easily developed a relationship with the city of McAllen, Texas, to create its vision of a 120-acre convention center district in a former agricultural community.
Starting with no more than a sand lot in 2005, SpawGlass developed all the roads and infrastructure needed to support a nearly 200,000-square-foot structure surrounded by 19 dancing fountains.
The convention center is McAllen’s largest city-owned building, now the hub of economic growth necessary to support new residents and tourists.
Approaching the center, visitors pass a reflecting pool and walk up a series of concrete steps for a view of the 90-foot clock tower. Guests then walk past an outdoor court of live palm trees before entering a glass curtainwalled lobby with 48-foot-tall ceilings, where they are greeted with six replica palms constructed of structural steel, preserved palm tree bark and leaves.
Past the palm tree courts, SpawGlass constructed a 60,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a 12,000-square-foot ballroom, six meeting rooms and a banquet kitchen equipped to serve 1,600 guests. To accommodate kitchen and waitstaff, the contractor also built a back-of-the-house corridor so activity does not disturb meeting attendees.
Also unique to the McAllen Convention Center are the finishes reflecting the cultural flavor of the Rio Grande Valley. For example, custom Axminster carpet illustrated with birds, butterflies and palm trees adorns the halls and meeting rooms, and lighting fixtures throughout the center represent themes of flight and nature.
On the exterior, project crews carefully phased the installation of brick, precast concrete, metal panels, polished Chinese granite and long-span trusses.
"It was a bit atypical to work with so many unique finishes," says Kirby Baird, project executive. "We worked hard to make sure there would be no leaks at transition points."
SpawGlass self-performed more than $5 million of the $50.8 million job, including woodworking for the butterfly ceiling art in the ballroom, all site concrete, rough carpentry, field engineering, and installation of doors, frames and bathroom details.
"We routinely do some of the work ourselves," Baird says. "It gave us a bit of control over the schedule, and we could take charge of the jobs where we felt the local community could not provide expertise."
For example, SpawGlass stepped in to help supply its subcontractor with labor to create the shop drawings for the imported granite, as well as labor to build the 3-acre fountain element and utilities.
Crews also installed high-tech elements like a cyber café and LCD information screens, and high-grade soundproofing so noise cannot travel between meeting rooms and corridors.
The facility opened last January about two months ahead of schedule. Baird credits excellent teamwork, a seasoned superintendent and an agreeable city manager for preventing claims and disputes and keeping communication open throughout the change order process. SpawGlass attended city council meetings and conducted tours of the facility to generate positive community publicity for the project.
"We partnered well with the city early on, and everyone agreed, if there is ever a problem, let’s communicate and get the job done," Baird says. "The local contracting community and the city really took ownership of the project—no one wanted to see it fail."
SpawGlass received final payment from the city just 45 days after substantial completion of the project.
"I couldn’t ask for a better project," Baird says. "I’d say it’s probably one of the best that we’ve ever done."
A sign of the mixed-use development’s success: contractors are currently at work building hotel pads for future development, and an open-air mall is now open down the street from the convention center.
A National Spectacle
Another monumental meeting space debuted in April, emerging along the banks of the Potomac River just south of Washington, D.C.
The $800 million Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, which used elements of the Chesapeake Bay region for design inspiration, also stands to serve as a thriving economic centerpiece. It is the largest entertainment facility of its kind on the Eastern seaboard.
Surrounded by five hotels, at least 10 mixed-use residential, retail, office and parking structures, and a pedestrian-friendly promenade and piers, the 300-acre site began construction in 2004 and continues to bustle with the sound of cranes and multiple contracting firms at work.
The plan, envisioned by the Peterson Companies, Fairfax, Va., centers around the creation of the 20-story Gaylord hotel with its signature glass atrium encompassing gardens and restaurants.
"The design orients all visitors to the river, keeping a focus on the surrounding environment," says Jeff Barber, project principal with architecture firm Gensler, Washington, D.C.
"The design challenge was to create a comfortable pedestrian experience, but also a sense of grandeur," Barber says. "We did this by creating separate tiers: a main street, up to a mezzanine, up to the lobby entry and concierge, and finally the upper-level ballrooms."
Throughout the facility—and even while perusing the 180,000-square-foot exhibit hall or enjoying a drink in the pre-function space—visitors have a constant view of the water.
A truly unique design challenge to building the Gaylord National was spanning the 220-foot atrium with bow trusses, which were too long to preassemble. The construction team, led by joint-venture contractor Perini Tompkins, barged the truss components in three-piece segments to the jobsite, where they were assembled on the riverbanks.
After welding the pieces together, one of the largest cranes available in the United States picked up each truss at two different points. Next, the crane was walked in on a specially constructed platform to place each truss at the inner-most point of the building. Then the crane was backed out to repeat the process until the last truss was set closest to the river.
These 50-ton trusses are welded to the roof on the south side of the building, but "free float" on the north side of the building so the glass can expand and contract in the heat of the sun.
Another architectural feature is the catenary curve suspension system, or a long-slung "U" shape, that carries the load of the upper curtainwall. The weight of the wall is transferred to the structure of the building through a bridge-like cable. The glass façade closest to the river, however, is supported by the ground.
Also unique to construction is the radiant cooling system needed to counteract the strong sunlight that pours through the glass-enclosed structure. Other green initiatives include low-flow faucets and toilets, water-efficient landscaping, recycling, motion sensors for lights, duel-switching lower light output and high-efficiency cold water chillers.
As a more vertical expression of the Gaylord’s concept, the project will become a model for future convention centers in urban environments. And based on the fast booking of the D.C. region’s new convention space—with one million hotel rooms selling before construction was even complete—it’s not too early to call the development a huge success.
"The Gaylord is the anchor development for the harbor, and the quality of the hotel and convention center demonstrates this is a full-scale mixed-use environment, complete with high-quality architecture and riverfront experiences," Barber says.
An abundance of green space, walkways and water taxi service from nearby Alexandria, Va., promise to draw tourists and locals alike.
Bigger and Bolder
While the McAllen Convention Center and the Gaylord emerged from undeveloped land, many conference center projects in urban areas grow from existing facilities.
This was the case with the Kentucky Exposition Center’s $55 million North Wing/East Hall reconstruction project, which opened to the public last October.
The Louisville facility, originally constructed in 1956, needed more exhibit space to draw the attention of larger tradeshows and events.
The convention center looked to Messer Construction, Cincinnati, to transform 215,000 square feet of exhibit space into Class A space by replacing 96 columns with eight and elevating ceiling heights to 27 feet. With the North Wing expansion, the Kentucky Expo Center (KEC) now features 885,000 square feet of meeting space—making it the sixth largest expo center in the United States in terms of square footage.
One unique showpiece of the center is the grand lobby, where terrazzo flooring welcomes guests. A new undulating roof design alternates between ceiling heights of 40 feet and 70 feet. And, guests can access the lobby through a new pedway connected to the north parking lots.
Messer worked under a tight schedule, and in between ongoing exhibitions and conferences, to build the expansion in only a year and half. Construction crews contended with limited staging areas and noise restrictions.
"It’s amazing when you consider the size of the building and the small space we were allowed for staging," says Joe Mudd, Messer’s senior project manager. "One of the major challenges was working around the public, the event coordinators and the KEC’s demands while the center was still open. Communication was key to working with our own craftforce and subcontractors to make it happen."
In one instance, construction noise was a potential threat to riders and horses during an Arabian horse show. Mudd created a night shift to make sure construction crews did not interrupt the event.
In all project stages, teams arranged just-in-time deliveries of materials, such as rooftop components by helicopter, requiring serious coordination with the owner to ensure laydown areas were ready and no debris was present onsite.
Messer also created several temporary pedestrian walkways through the jobsite to meet egress requirements.
"There was a mindset I tried to sum up for the project team: the perception by the public is foremost. We cannot negatively affect any ongoing events, because not only would it affect that tradeshow, but the KEC’s relationship with us and the community for years to come," Mudd says.
By using lean construction methods with six-week look-aheads and by carefully fitting the puzzle pieces to sequence construction between large events, Messer completed its work on time.
The new wing has brought much acclaim, and event planners are taking notice. The North Wing is currently booked with shows and conventions through 2020. The Kentucky State Fair, the National Street Ride Association with nearly 15,000 cars, the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo, as well as University of Louisville basketball games, all have taken place at the site since the grand opening.
The expansions are expected to increase the Kentucky State Fair’s total economic impact from $453 million to $600 million annually. Contractors also are hearing talk about a future convention center hotel as well as a new amphitheater near the site.
Projects like this one and more are a sign that despite current economic concerns, many mixed-use opportunities are ready and waiting at convention center hubs nationwide.
Just across the street from the newly expanded Fort Worth Convention Center, Austin Commercial, Dallas, is wrapping up work on the $200 million Omni Fort Worth Hotel. Opening to the public this January, the hotel will provide 614 rooms and 84 condominiums, as well as three levels of underground parking for an influx of visitors to the burgeoning area.
On an urban jobsite, Austin Commercial broke ground in August 2006, digging into rock across two city blocks to create the foundation for a 33-story structure. In all, the project used 60,000 cubic yards of concrete to create 1 million square feet of space.
The Omni Fort Worth is now the fourth tallest building in the city.
"The city of Fort Worth desperately wanted a convention center hotel to help the convention center’s image," says Kelly Williams, pre-construction manager for Austin Commercial. "This project was a major opportunity right in the middle of our market here in Texas."
Facing schedule pressure with rooms being sold before construction finished, the contractor used its experience to create the modern Western motif designed by HOK, the architect for the hotel and convention center expansion.
In 2004, a project to remove the old Interstate-30 elevation over Lancaster Avenue made way for significant improvements to the south end of the city, including the Omni and potentially more restaurants and retail.