A proposed project to transform a bus station in Seattle could more than double the square footage of Washington State Convention Center. Possibly to begin in 2017, renovating the Convention Place bus station into a five-story exhibition center would expand the facility by 440,000 square feet by 2020.
At its current size of 414,722 square feet, the downtown Seattle venue hosted 44 events, drawing 126,000 attendees in 2014.
Additional exhibition space in Seattle would bring larger technology associations and professional group conventions that the city was unable to previously accommodate, according to Visit Seattle officials. Developing hotels in conjunction with added space and convention business could also accelerate business tourism to the area.
The $1.4 billion plan would also add 800 parking spaces, an apartment complex and office building on properties that the Convention Center purchased in 2014. $750 million of the total cost would be allocated for construction with the remainder funding real estate acquisition, street replacement, and work on architecture and engineering. Design proposals were opened to public comment on July 21.
