Development
BY BEN THOMPSON
Austin Convention Center redevelopment design revealed
After a decade of planning, the nearly 33-year-old Austin Convention Center will soon be torn down and rebuilt through a four-year project that will transform six square blocks of downtown Austin. The $1.6 billion redevelopment kicks o with the center’s closure in April. It’ll eventually boost the local economy and Austin’s national pro le, o cials said, as well as impact the surrounding area, and city hotel and tourism operations in the years ahead. Local leaders say the project will help revitalize the area with new public features and a more inviting presence. A nal outline was unveiled to City Council on Feb. 25. The convention center rebuild is expected to increase downtown’s exhibition space, modernizing the campus in what Mayor Kirk Watson dubbed the “living room” of Austin with several additions both inside and outside the building. Zooming out Closure and demolition are scheduled to begin weeks after this year’s SXSW, 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 event organizers are excited about a “reimagining” for a few years before returning to the convention center. The city projects the new center will bring a signi cant nancial 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 gures by nearly two-thirds, adding an additional $285 million in economic impact and over 1,600 new jobs.
The new convention center complex will feature less street level building space and new public areas.
COURTESY AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER DEPARTMENT AND LMN PAGE
A closer look Local leaders have pointed to the disconnect of the U.S.’s 11th-largest city, a growing economic hub and travel destination, housing a convention center with less than 250,000 square feet of exhibit space— the 61st-most in the country. With the upgrade, Austin would rank in the mid-30s. Today, the Austin Convention Center features roughly 365,000 square feet of rentable space, including exhibit halls. The redeveloped facility is now expected to include about 620,000 square feet of rentable space, including 550,000 square feet indoors, plus 140,000 square feet for future expansion.
The new convention center complex will feature less street level building space and new public areas.
COURTESY CITY OF AUSTIN
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