$1.6B Austin Convention Center Expansion Underway

Out with the old. In with the new. The dated Austin Convention Center has closed its doors, and the new one just broke ground. The old center will be mostly demolished. The $1.6B expansion project will be ready for the 2029 spring festival season.

Community Impact reports the new facility will have 620,000 square feet of rentable space, a nearly 70% increase. It will include a larger exhibition hall below-ground and new public areas, pedestrian connections and commercial spaces at street level. The campus will also have room for potential future expansion of up to 140,000 additional square feet. The redevelopment is funded entirely through city hotel tax collections that have been reserved for the project. It will add $750 million in annual economic impact and $12 million in annual civic tax revenue, as well as the estimated 1,600 local jobs the redevelopment project will create.