Philadelphia Convention Center drives development

from this morning's GlobeSt (6/17):

Last updated: June 16, 2008 03:06pm
Expanded Convention Center Drives Development
By Brianne Harrison

"PHILADELPHIA-The Pennsylvania Convention Center has long been an economic driver for Center City Philadelphia, drawing more than one million visitors a year to the area. Now that the convention center is being expanded, its economic impact on the city could be huge." ...

"Once the expansion is complete, the convention center will boast the largest contiguous exhibit space in the northeast, at 541,000 sf as well as the largest convention center ballroom on the east coast, at 60,000 sf. Total exhibit hall space will be raised from its current 440,000 sf to 700,000 sf. The $700 million project is scheduled for completion in 2010.

With so many more people coming to the convention center, hotel growth in the area is set to boom. "This will stimulate hotel growth, because we have to have it," Ferguson tells GlobeSt.com. "We see somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,200 to 2,500 new hotel rooms coming to Center City Philadelphia, particularly focused near the convention center." According to Ferguson, 533 rooms are currently being converted from former office space in the area and are expected to open in 2009, just ahead of the convention center’s reopening. In addition, a 55,000-sf site at the corner of Broad and Race Streets is being considered for an 800- to 900-room hotel."

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