A joint venture of Turner Construction and JE Dunn Construction has won the $1.2 billion contract for the redevelopment and expansion of the Austin Convention Center in Texas, according to a press release Turner shared with Construction Dive.
The project will include the demolition and reconstruction of the existing convention center, located in the southeast quadrant of downtown, where the current facility spans several blocks. The new structure will nearly double the 376,000 square feet of rentable space in the old building, while also reopening closed streets to connect the east and west sections of the city.
“This project will revitalize the Austin Convention Center, enhancing the experience for both patrons and guests, while improving the connectivity of downtown Austin,” said Graham Dewar, vice president and general manager of Turner, with based in New York City, in the statement.
The The Austin City Council voted on October 19 for Turner JE Dunn JV to assume project delivery responsibilities, covering pre-construction and construction services through a construction manager at risk contract. In CMAR contracts, contractors and owners agree on a guaranteed maximum price, with the construction manager assuming the risk of any cost overruns.
Turner has completed more than 25 convention center projects nationwide, including major expansion work at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.
Kansas City, Mo.-based JE Dunn has an extensive portfolio of completed projects in Austin, including the Texas Facilities Commission Capital Complex Master Plan, the University of Texas Dell Seton Medical Center, and the 66-story Sixth and Guadalupe mixed-use tower. , the tallest building in Austin.
The convention center project has been years in the making, and the need for the facility has grown along with the city’s annual South by Southwest festival. When the event began in 1987, primarily as a music event, it attracted about 700 people. This year’s edition, which covered everything from music to film, business and multimedia, was attended by more than 345,000 people.
Design work on the new convention center is scheduled to begin early next year. In 2025, the current building will be closed for demolition, with construction scheduled to end in 2028.
That calendar and closure of four years it has not been universally accepted by city leadersand SXSW organizers have said they’ll have to reimagine the event in the interim.
Austin also selected a joint venture of Seattle-based LMN Architects and Austin-based Page Southerland Page to provide full-scale architectural design and engineering services for the company.
The total cost of the project is estimated at 1.6 billion dollars. The city’s hotel occupancy tax and revenue from the Austin Convention Center will fund the project.
