City Council to Austin: Go Ahead, Expand the Convention Center

The Austin City Council unanimously approved a $1.2 billion resolution to expand the city’s convention center. The approval means staff members can move on to assess financing tied to an expansion, and was part of a broad resolution addressing several projects in the southeastern sector of the CBD.

The convention center expansion is related to Mayor Steve Adler’s “Downtown Puzzle” plan, which focuses on expanding the center in exchange for an increase in hotel taxes on guests within new tourism taxing districts. The details on the financing, however, are unclear, and the resolution asks staff members to study and recommend financing options.

The resolution is the latest effort to expand the convention center, with experts believing that Austin loses out on a great deal of convention business because of the center’s current 247,050-square-foot size.

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