Four major cities in Texas are either considering or constructing convention center upgrades.
Austin joins other major cities in Texas in considering substantial upgrades to its convention center this month, as the City Council contemplated a master plan to add 321,680 square feet of leasable space, a private hotel, and a three-acre roof-top park. Joe Lanane reports that after considering the master plan, the City Council decided to postpone approval of the project o study "what alternative projects, including a potential arena, could be funded using the city’s hotel occupancy tax, or HOT tax, revenue."
In total, the "expansion would cost $405.3 million and another $45 million to $50 million for land acquisition." The convention center was last upgraded in 2002.
Making the case for the expansion is Mark Tester, the director of the convention center. Lanane paraphrases Tester's case for investing in upgrades for the facility: "Until a convention center expansion occurs, the facility risks losing new and existing events because of lack of availability and space."
If that argument sounds familiar, it's because convention center officials in Dallas are hitting similar points in arguing for an upgrade of that city's convention center. Dallas officials, in fact, invoked Austin's efforts in an article by Karen Robinson-Jacobs earlier this month.
Lest we leave any cities in Texas out of this arms race. San Antonio is wrapping up a $325 million expansion of its convention center, recently moving up the opening date from February to January 2016. Houston is also spending $175 million to spiff up some of the on-site facilities at its convention center.
FULL STORY: Effort to expand convention center on hold for now
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.