Blue collar Daytona Beach dressing up convention center
Work started on Volusia County’s $57 million renovation of the Ocean Center convention facility in Daytona Beach.
Said Ocean Center Director Rick Hamilton.
“We are creating a destination here.”
“Volusia County is betting the expanded facility and the bevy of expansions, makeovers, and additions surrounding the facility will bring larger numbers of big spenders to the beachside community best known for its spring break antics and mobs of bikers on holiday,” wrote the Orlando Business Journal.
The facility now has 225,000 square feet of space. The expansion will nearly double it to almost 500,000 square feet.
The expansion includes additional exhibit space and meeting rooms, two parking lots, interior renovations and an exterior makeover.
The goal is to do more than add convention-goers but to make Daytona an attractive destination for others as well.
The center is surrounded by other revitalization projects such as a restoration of the Daytona Pier and two new condo hotels with 500 rooms.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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