Sloped or flat roof, building efficiency options, and location of the elevated crosswalk link are just a few of the details convention expansion leaders are working on.
The Monroe County Capital Improvement Board met at the convention center Wednesday afternoon as the schematic design timeframe wraps up.
The CIB’s 2025 budget was approved at Wednesday night’s city council meeting. As the project takes shape, cost models are being adjusted.
CIB president John Whikehart said they’re staying within the budget.
“We will have a finite budget for this project. It will not be bigger. We will not ask for more money than that finite budget,” he said.
The project is expected to cost $52 million.
CIB members gravitated toward the butterfly or sloped roof saying the architecture needs to define this space and public input asked for a visually stunning building.
“We're going to get one chance to make a statement with this new facility,” Whikehart said.
Another design change is moving the elevated crosswalk link entrance further back into the existing building. Although the cost goes up, the link wouldn’t distract from the front of the building and not empty into the large meeting space on the second floor.
Some would like to see how that would align with the ground floor connector between the existing hotel and convention center.
The CIB hotel subcommittee is recommending Dora Hospitality develop a new hotel after reviewing three proposals. The next step is to enter negotiations with the city redevelopment commission on the Bunger & Robertson property north of the existing center.
The city wanted up to $7 million in reimbursement for the land.
Architects are also prioritizing renovations to the current building. Those include window and HVAC unit replacement, masonry re-pointing, utility code updates, adding a warming kitchen, and updating the entry and landscaping to match the new building.
A special meeting for final preliminary design and budget alignment is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 23.
The next board meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 13.
