The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA) has approved a $1.6 million contract to begin planning for a $100 million renovation of the city’s uptown convention center.
TVS North Carolina, an affiliate with Atlanta-based architecture and design firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates (TVS Design) will complete schematic design and detailed cost estimates of the renovation.
“This work…has been a long process,” The Charlotte Observer quotes CRVA chief executive Tom Murray as saying. “We had some broad ranges of what that would cost, but knew that needed further refinement.”
The 21-year-old convention center needs a major renovation over the next six years to stay competitive with peer cities, the CRVA has said. The initial proposal calls for adding about 34,000 sq. ft. to the center’s 330,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, rebuilding the Stonewall Street-facing facade and better connecting the center to the rest of uptown, including a pedestrian bridge to the new Whole Foods under construction at Crescent Stonewall Station, according to the published report.
The TVS design contract will be funded through the convention center’s dedicated tax fund. “Although the CRVA says completing the design work doesn’t obligate Charlotte to move forward with the $100 million renovation, the CRVA expects to bring more contracts to City Council for approval in the fall,” the newspaper reported.