The city of Sacramento has released the latest renderings for the Convention Center and Community Center Theater projects.
They show a lot of glass would be used to recreate the entry areas to the facilities from the south.
At the unveiling of the new renderings on Tuesday, City Councilmember Steve Hansen said the current Convention Center is a “mishmash” of styles from the 1970s to ’90s. He called the building a “Frankenstein” that is in need of a “wardrobe change.”
Michael Lockwood, the architecture and design firm Populous, says demolition of the south side of the convention center will open K Street to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
A large public art piece could also be part of the new design.
City of Sacramento / Courtesy
Total cost could be between $320 million to $340 million. That’s $100 million more than first estimated. The city says a new Convention Center design, construction costs, a second ballroom and more upgrades account for 99 percent of this increase.
New steel tariffs would account for about $1 million, according to project manager Desmond Harrington.
The city of Sacramento says $22 million per year from the Transient Occupancy Tax on hotels will pay for most of the project, which includes updates to the Memorial Auditorium. The city would issue 30-year bonds in September if the council approves on Tuesday.
Hotel owners have already started the process to create a special assessment district to pay for the ballroom. The money would generate $2.7 million per year.
Michael Ault with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership says some people assumed development of downtown was complete when the Golden 1 Center opened.
“We’re nowhere near that. We’ve got to continue to push the agenda of economic development downtown,” he said.
If the city council approves, construction could begin in December.
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today