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Demolition Starts for $700M Convention Center

PHILADELPHIA-Bricks go flying as land is cleared for 300,000 sf of extra space for the convention center here, scheduled for a 2010 completion.

By Sean Ryan | Updated on August 17, 2007

PHILADELPHIA-The 300,000-sf expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center recently got under way with demolition of the older three-story brick structure at 122 N. 13th St. The ceremony featured Philadelphia icon Ben Franklin cutting a kite string to send a wrecking ball hurtling.

The center, built in 1993, is currently at 640,000 sf. Construction of the expansion will generate at least $10 million a year in state income tax, says Michael J. Masch, state secretary of the budget and board member of the Convention Center Authority. Once completed in 2010, Masch expects it to generate almost $1.1 billion per year in spending.

“Supporting this expansion is vital to our goal of improving the state’s economy by investing in jobs and stimulating travel to the commonwealth,” says Gov. Ed Rendell.Some 40% of the total hotel room nights used each year in the city come from conventions–the national average is just 27%. That works out to an extra 280,000 room nights per year and an extra $140 million in regional economic activity.

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