MICE news briefs
MICE Briefs
San Antonio expansion
A proposed expansion in San Antonio would give it 528,000 square feet of exhibit space, which is 25 percent more than it has now. It would add another 100,000 square feet.
The addition should help the city remain "competitive" for major conventions, says Meetings Focus. No date has been set but it’s now on the drawing boards.
Michael Sawaya, who oversees the city’s CVB efforts, said the proposed expansion is not as much about increasing the size of the center as it about increasing the flexibility.
McCormick expansion
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago announced that the first phase of a multi-million dollar expansion and renovation has started. The hotel’s owner, Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), will be investing approximately $110 million in the construction and furnishings of the hotel. It will be completed in phases.
Phase one will involve construction of the new tower with 460 guest rooms, including 12 suites and two premium suites. It is slated for completion in mid-2013.
Phase two of the project begins in spring of 2012 with the redesign of Hyatt Regency McCormick Place’s coffee shop, Daily Grind.
Phase three begins in late 2012 with the expansion and renovation of the main lobby, followed by the renovation of the existing 800 guest room tower in January, 2013.
Orlando hotel boom
In the heart of one the nation’s biggest hotel markets, there’s a downtown where a new hotel hasn’t opened in more than a decade. But that’s about to change.
Developers plan to open three new hotels during the next two years in downtown Orlando. They were encouraged in part by the year-old Amway Center and a new performing-arts center set to open in 2014. A commuter-rail line is also slated to start operating that same year.
That comes despite a downtown office vacancy rate of 18 percent.
By David Wilkening
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David
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