New convention center revealed From the cover
Zooming out
The big picture
The project timeline is partially based around one of the center’s biggest draws, SXSW. Closure and demolition are scheduled to begin weeks after this year’s event, and the new building will reopen in winter 2028 ahead of the 2029 festival. SXSW will remain in Austin in the interim, and a spokesperson said they are excited about a “reimagining” for a few years before returning to the convention center. The city projects the new center and exhibitions it’ll draw will bring a significant financial lift. The current facility has generated an estimated $468.8 million in annual economic impacts, supported more than 2,700 permanent jobs and has helped generate well over $100 million in city hotel taxes a year. The revamp will boost those figures by nearly two-thirds, adding an additional $285 mil- lion in economic impact and over 1,600 new jobs.
install work from 10 Austin-based artists. The new building will situate convention space belowground, offering significantly more exhibit space plus offerings for meetings and other activities on a smaller overall footprint. Visit Austin President and CEO Tom Noonan said those changes should allow for a wider variety of events, including educational conferences in sectors like nursing and education that Austin’s workforce can take advantage of. “This investment will create an active, modern, efficient and dynamic space that strengthens Austin’s position as a premier event destination while driving long-term benefits for local businesses and the economy for years to come,” convention center spokesperson Derick Hackett said.
The convention center rebuild is expected to significantly increase downtown’s exhibition space, modernizing the campus in what Mayor Kirk Watson dubbed the “living room” of the Austin community with several additions both inside and outside the building. Officials said a major change visitors will notice is a shift away from previous generations of bulky centers that blanket multiple city blocks. After redevelopment, it’ll be more accessible and open to the public—most noticeably with the reopening of Second and Third streets to vehicle and pedestrian traffic through the property. The project, funded solely through local lodging and convention revenue set aside for the work, will feature new street-level retail and dining options around the site. The city also invested millions of dollars in a public art program that’ll
A new footprint
Downtown Station
Expansion effects
Convention Center facilities
Post- expansion*
Current
Hotels
Retail Restored Palm Park (in progress)
Annual events
99
199
Annual attendance
Reopened street* Pedestrian path
35
480,899
781,000
Cesar Chavez Station
Annual economic impact
Waterloo Greenway (in progress) Red Line rail (current) Project Connect rail (proposed)
$468.8M $753.8M
Jobs supported 2,715
4,337
SOURCE: AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER DEPARTMENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT *THIRD STREET WILL REOPEN FOR MULTIMODAL TRAFFIC
Annual city tax revenue
N
$11.75M
$23.67M
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT *BASED ON 2021 ESTIMATES; NEW FIGURES EXPECTED IN 2026
ART PARKS 3/15 • 11AM
TOUR
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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