Xentury City Loses Convention Center Contract

KISSIMMEE, FL-After eight years of fruitlessly trying to find a convention center developer, Osceola County government officials are back at the negotiating table today after voting 3-2 Monday night to break contract talks with Orlando-based Xentury City Development Co., a firm it has done business with for 20 years.

Instead, county commissioners have started talks with their No. 2 developer choice: Austin Convention Center builder Landmark Organization Inc., of Austin, TX. If talks break down with Landmark, the commission could go to its No. 3 selection, Orlando-based Tempus Resorts International, or scrap the $100 million, 500,000-sf convention concept completely.

If built at all, the convention center won’t be breaking ground until early 2004 with expected completion in 2006, area construction industry estimators familiar with comparable projects tell GlobeSt.com. Xentury had planned to have the center open for events by early 2005.