Facade rendering of the convention center expansion. (Schmidt Associates, Convergence Design)
Demolition is underway and the ground-breaking is scheduled for the convention center expansion project.
The Capital Improvement Board met Wednesday to wrap up design details and approve a final round of bids.
Designers are down to choosing fixtures, wall coverings and limestone wall designs.
Construction documents are set to be released to Weddle Bros. contractors June 6. That includes 500 pages of drawings for mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.
Read more: Expansion project moves to next round of bids, exterior finishes
The group approved alternate bid items due to the status of the market. The items amount to another 3 percent on top of the 10 percent of the budget items decided last October. These are items that could be cut if the bids for the expansion come in too high.
For example, masonry repairs on the existing building don’t need to be done right now.
“When we look at some of these alternates and as we move forward and especially when the rubber hits the road, we've got to make some decisions about some of this,” CIB president John Whikehart said. “I think we need to make certain we're exploring all potential revenue sources for making these things happen.”
He said due to the bonds being retired on the current building, the Innkeeper’s Tax has increased by $600,000 a year.
Listen to more: Convention Center expansion picking up steam | Noon Edition
Whikehart said there’s no new information on the proposed host Dora hotel as discussions and due diligence are ongoing with the city.
“That meeting we had with those hoteliers (Tuesday) was extremely positive,” he said. “I emphasized to them that we are not just interested in the success of the host hotel, we're interested in the success of all of our hotels.”
The group also approved the overhead relocation of utility lines from Duke Energy, Smithville and Comcast to be underground around the site.
The groundbreaking is set for June 3 at 3:30 p.m. at the convention center site.
