Javits Board Approves Expansion Plan
By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 5/29/2006
Despite opposition from some parties, the current design for New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center expansion is moving ahead.
The Javits board voted May 17, two days after a public hearing, to accept the expansion and renovation plan presented by the Richard Rogers Partnership, FXFowle Architects and A. Epstein & Sons.
Empire State Development will accept public comments on the design until June 15. Before groundbreaking begins this summer, the Javits and Empire State Development boards and the state Public Authorities Control Board must also give their final approval.
Some, including former longtime Javits administrator Robert Boyle, have argued that the plan is flawed because it would only add another 276,000 square feet of exhibit space to the center's existing 814,000 sq. ft. That would put the facility — now the nation's 13th largest — on par with New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and Louisville's Kentucky Exposition Center, which also both have 1.1 million sq. ft. of exhibit space.
A six-story marshaling garage with spiral ramps has also been the subject of criticism. Freeman Vice President and COO John O'Connell has called the configuration "a strategic threat to our business," while U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has opined that it would lead to "logistical nightmares."
O'Connell, who wasn't able to attend the public hearing, said, "Our hope is that the architects and designers will provide a construction plan that will provide an end result that is functional, productive and attractive to show management and their exhibiting clients."
Supporters argue that the plan, though not perfect, is the best that can be accomplished within the project's $1.7 billion budget.
"The reality is, this is a building that is an urban convention center. We do not have the luxury of acres and acres of land," said Jonathan Tisch, chairman of NYC & Co., the city's convention and visitors bureau. "This is an excellent design which allows us to double the amount of space, change the configuration of meeting to exhibition space and fix some of the ills of the existing building."
Tisch, who has been pushing to expand the center for the past decade, pointed out that the renovation calls for replacement of the Javits' dark glass and outdated mechanical systems, as well as repair of the venue's legendary leaky roof.
He added that the architects are still gathering input on the marshaling garage proposed for the building's north end. Previously, a three-level marshaling yard was planned for the south end on land now designated for commercial development. "The marshaling yards have not been totally designed," Tisch said.
Under the plans, the Javits would get a new glass-enclosed entry and a 1,500-room convention center hotel between 35th and 36th streets. The center would also gain 180,000 sq. ft. of additional meeting space.
In the meantime, the Municipal Arts Society has filed a court challenge to the project, saying its environmental effects have not been adequately studied.
