The Downtown Commission last week approved plans by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority to add over 40,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space to the northern end of the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
The addition, which would fill in the empty space now occupied by a series of plazas along East Goodale Street, would be linked by pedestrian bridge to a new 800-space convention center garage currently under construction on the other side of Goodale.
Extensive interior renovations of the convention center are also planned, and in fact will account for about $95 million of the $125 million price tag for the renovation and expansion.
Renderings show a much more prominent entrance to the center at the corner of Goodale and High, as well as redesigned and updated ballrooms. Steven Munger of Schooley Caldwell Associates, the local firm that is partnering with LMN out of Seattle on the project, said that the new ballrooms would have the ability to change color based on the event being hosted.
Last spring, the convention authority had considered a number of large-scale proposals to add office, retail and hotel rooms to the northern end of the convention center site, but later opted for the more modest interior renovation and expansion plans that are now moving forward.
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All renderings provided by Schooley Caldwell Associates and LMN Architects.
