North Texas construction firms AECOM Hunt, Byrne Construction Services, and EJ Smith are about to make their mark on downtown Fort Worth. The city of Fort Worth has selected the three firms to manage “the full scope” of phase one of a major expansion of the Fort Worth Convention Center—with a budget of up to $30 million.

To complete phase one, the firms will realign Commerce Street to clear a site for a future convention hotel. They’ll demolish the annex and build new food and beverage facilities. They’ll also create more loading docks for the center. Construction on this phase is slated to begin in mid-2023 and be completed in 2026. The facility will remain operational during both phase one and two of the planned expansion.

“The AECOM Hunt/Byrne/EJ Smith team combines a national builder with 35 years of extensive convention center expansion expertise with reputable local builders who have past experience with our center and deep roots in Fort Worth,” said Fort Worth’s Mike Crum.