The Waco Convention Center renovation project is the largest of the six City of Waco bond projects. Using a competitive Request for Proposal process that generated responses from eight architectural firms, RBDR, P.L.L.C. of Waco was selected as the primary architectural firm for the convention center project. RBDR has teamed with Hahnfeld, Hoffer, Stanford (HHS) of Ft. Worth, TX for additional architectural consulting and with various other, mostly local, firms for civil engineering and surveying, structural engineering, mechanical/electrical, acoustics/sound/audio visual, and food service consulting.

The Waco Convention Center project scope is intended to open-up this 40-year-old “cloistered” facility that is situated immediately alongside Lake Brazos in downtown Waco, yet offers no open views of this beautiful river. The renovation project will provide for a complete external and internal renovation of the building and add better connectivity to the adjacent Hilton hotel.

It will relocate the main kitchen and enhance all catering areas, increase the functionality of the building with back-of-house access via service corridors and improved lighting, A/V, technological and MEP/HVAC systems. The construction portion of the project is intended to start in the late summer/early fall of 2009 and is expected to conclude in late 2010.

Portions of the project have been modified and redesigned because an attempt to get a construction contractor on-board fell short in early February when initial construction bids were received and all exceeded the budgeted funds for the project. With portions of the project being redesigned, plans are to take the project back to bid in July/August of 2009 and if all goes as expected, construction should begin in early fall of 2009. Construction duration will likely last 16-18 months and should be complete by the end of 2010.

The construction/renovation project will be phased and portions of the building will remain open throughout the project, allowing many meetings and events to occur as planned, during construction. Staff has been in continual contact with clients holding existing event contracts for events during the proposed renovation period.

Construction bidders will be required to work with our staff to accommodate, as best as possible, convention and event customer needs. As we all know, construction schedules usually change throughout any project, but the WCC staff is committed to being our customers’ advocate where the schedule is concerned and to make customer inconveniences as minor as possible.

Certainly the renovation and expansion of the Waco Convention Center is a monumental project. It is because of the foresight and vision of the wonderful citizens of Waco that we have the opportunity to do this project and we want to make the citizens of Waco proud of this facility.