Fearful that a projected $700,000 tourism tax revenue this year will actually come in at $550,000, the Seminole County city, 25 miles north of Downtown Orlando, is leaning towards a smaller venture as it approaches the signing of a formal contract with the county. The county will build the project; the city will run it.

However, at an estimated $15.8 million for the 45,000-sf center, the hard cost would be about $351 per sf, construction industry estimators tell GlobeSt.com. At $19 million for the 63,000-sf project, the cost would fall around $302 per sf.

The city is also talking with several national hotel developers to build a hotel next to the convention center at Sanford Avenue and First Street which faces Lake Monroe and the city's port.