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Capital City Convention Center

tombarnes

By tombarnes
in Jackson

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tombarnes City

tombarnes

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Groundbreaking in June!

Ground should be broken on the 12th of June for the Capital City Convention Center in downtown Jackson. This has been much discussed, but it is great to see it finally taking place. I have serious reservations about the design, but I'm just happy to see the project go forward. I'l try to find a picture which doesn't have a copyright.

Clarion Ledger

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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Groundbreaking in June!

Ground should be broken on the 12th of June for the Capital City Convention Center in downtown Jackson. This has been much discussed, but it is great to see it finally taking place. I have serious reservations about the design, but I'm just happy to see the project go forward. I'l try to find a picture which doesn't have a copyright.

Clarion Ledger

Very cool, Tom! Do you have any info on the size of the building or any renderings?

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

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It's good to see this project finally going somewhere. I remember creating a thread about it some months back in the Southern USA forum. 110,000 sq ft isn't all that big, but I think it's a safe move, especially since the convention business isn't booming these days like it was in the mid-90's. But as long as they build it with the capacity for expansion in the future, it should be OK.

I wish there was a more detailed rendering available. All the current one tells us is that it's going to be glassy as hell.

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

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I think the picture is copyrighted, but here's a link...

Capital City Convention Center

The convention center is supposed to be about 110,000 sq. feet. Not terribly big, but it's being built in conjunction with the TelCom Center which is only a bit smaller.

Wow, for being only 110,000 sq. ft. that is awesome-looking! I like the all-glass look. Very cool! :) I noticed in the article they said they're hoping a hotel will come on-board. Be cautioned, however, that if a hotel company doesn't come on board to build a hotel, the city will have to do what Shreveport did and go to the voters to fund a hotel. But in the end, it will be for the best because a thriving convention center has got to have a decent-sized hotel either on-site or within a very short walking distance (I'm sure you already know this anyway.)

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tombarnes City

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More...

Clarion Ledger

"The City Council is expected to authorize today selling a piece of land it owns to the Capital City Convention Center Commission. It is one of a patchwork of parcels the commission must buy from various entities for the $65 million project. Commissioners are scheduled to complete three other land buys this week."

I am surprised to learn that all of the land hasn't yet been acquired. Is it wise to schedule a groundbreaking before all of the parcels have come together?

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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^That's a good point.

Regarding a publicly-funded convention center hotel, this seems to be a trend lately in many cities, but didn't exactly work in Columbia, SC. The public had a hissy fit when they found out that the hotel was initially to be publicly-funded; afterwards, a private developer offered to build a Hilton, so it worked out (even though construction was pushed back).

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dimebag1980 Metropolis

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^That's a good point.

Regarding a publicly-funded convention center hotel, this seems to be a trend lately in many cities, but didn't exactly work in Columbia, SC. The public had a hissy fit when they found out that the hotel was initially to be publicly-funded; afterwards, a private developer offered to build a Hilton, so it worked out (even though construction was pushed back).

The Shreveport Convention Center Hotel faced massive opposition as well, but was eventually approved. It will be a Hilton, but city-managed.

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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This part of the article sounded promising:

Organizers hope the facility steals business from Birmingham, Baton Rouge and Memphis.

And the building should help tie together downtown - the long-promised Farish Street Entertainment District, the King Edward renovation, the arts district and the faint glimmer of another hotel.

I hope it all comes together!

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tombarnes City

tombarnes

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Convention Center Cost Hysteria

The Clarion Ledger had a story today about the "unexpected" revision of cost estimates for the convention center project. Is it a great surprise that it will cost $4m more than originally anticipated? Not especially. Whatever the problems, this is still a much needed shot in the arm for downtown Jackson.

The Clarion Ledger

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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^That's typical these days of projects of this scale. $4M seems to be one of the lower figures I've seen.

Any project that involves steel these days is going to be considerably more expensive because of rising steel prices. The same thing happened with Little Rock's new minor league baseball park.

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Florida Megalopolis

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I like this concept of building a Convention DISTRICT as the website says. It seems, Jackson should be quite successful luring patrons to the center given its accessibility advantages with the central location in the Southeast, the interstate system it has, and the fact that you have a discount carrier serving your airport. Couple with that the fact that Jackson now has a Nissan plant, and is a Capital City...

... many many reasons to be excited about this.

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tombarnes City

tombarnes

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Convention Center Bookings Strong

The meeting schedule for the Capital City Convention Center is showing every sign of being robust. The first meeting is scheduled for the 14th of January, 2009. While the convention center alone isn't going to change downtown Jackson, it is a key piece in the renewal puzzle. It would be nice to see real development progress on Farish Street and the Old Capitol Green projects.

The Clarion-Ledger

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tombarnes City

tombarnes

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Convention Center Complete- Opens Wednesday!

The Capital City Convention Center is complete at last! The first event is scheduled to be held on Wednesday. The convention center has a solid plate of bookings for the year. Of interest is the possibility that a plaza with fountains and sculpture is under discussion for the area between the convention centr and the Thalia Mara Hall. this will be a definite enhancement for the area. The next step is for Mark Small and his TCI Group to announce their plans for two hotels and an apartment complex adjacent to the new convention center. The announcement has now been pushed back to March.

The Clarion=Ledger

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