Convention center to undergo $10M renovation

WASHINGTON - The Walter E. Washington Convention Center will undergo an extreme makeover in 2009..

A $10 million renovation that will add 40,000 square feet of meeting space begins in spring.

General Manager Greg O'Dell says staff offices will be converted into meeting space at the New York Avenue location.

The space will be retrofitted with walls that can be moved so the space can be flexible enough for meetings, exhibits or banquets.

"For us to continue to stay competitive with our competitors, we're going to look to expand in the future as well," he says.

The work to be done by Columbia Enterprises and Forrester Construction Co. should be completed by the end of 2009.

"We have already 140 events planned in 2009."

The convention center, with its current 150,000 square feet of meeting space, 703,000 square feet of exhibition space and 52,000 square feet of ballroom space, generates about $500 million a year to the city's economy.

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