Empire State development president, CEO and commissioner Howard Zemsky has announced the design team who will spearhead the $1.5 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. After an extensive evaluation process, the panel has chosen LendLease Turner.
“The Javits Center is one of New York State’s greatest economic assets, and this project will turn this building into a 21st century marvel, a convention center of the caliber that New York deserves,” says commissioner Zemsky. “With these new state-of-the-art facilities, we will be able to attract the world’s best conferences and events and drive economic activity throughout the region for decades to come.”
The panel’s recommendation was then approved by the Board of Directors of the New York Convention Center Development Corporation. The expansion is set to generate $393 million in annual economic activity and reduce traffic congestion in the area.
The Javits Center is one of the busiest convention centers in the country, in 2015 it hosted events on 337 days. It hosts a range of meetings and events, in 2015 it had an economic impact of $1.9 billion.
“For the past 30 years, the Javits Center has fueled the Empire State’s economic engines, and thanks to Governor Cuomo’s vision, we will unlock this New York icon’s true potential and host the most dynamic events anywhere in the world,” says Alan Steel, president and CEO, New York Convention Center Operating Corporation, which operates the Javits Center. “With a recent renovation and a rapidly changing West Side neighborhood, there has never been better time to visit the Javits Center, and this new project will showcase our spaces to new audiences for generations to come.”
