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Dive brief:
- London-based construction firm Balfour Beatty broke ground on the expansion project east of the Broward County Convention Center in Florida on Dec. 13, according to a press release sent to Construction Dive.
- The 400,000-square-foot freestanding expansion building contains ballrooms, exhibition space and a kitchen that will serve the entire 1.5 million-square-foot convention center, according to the release. Balfour Beatty will also build an 801-room hotel operated by Omni Fort Lauderdale that will have more meeting and ballroom space, multiple dining options, an amenity deck and a rooftop bar.
- The expansion is Balfour Beatty’s second phase of construction on the $1 billion Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center project, according to the release. The current price of the project is more than 20% more than the original $780 million cost estimate announced in 2019.
Diving knowledge:
When complete, the final product will be add 525,000 square feet of meeting space at the convention center, along with a host of amenities such as a new 65,000-square-foot waterfront ballroom, upgraded water taxis and a public-access waterfront plaza, according to the contractor’s project page.
Balfour Beatty built the project over the past two years while working on activities at the convention center, the contractor said. Adding to the difficulty, the company also worked alongside two active port terminals in Broward County that serve two different cruise lines.
The company completed the first phase of the expansion project, the West Extension Buildingin October 2021. Balfour Beatty, along with developer Matthews Southwest of Lewsiville, Texas, created 350,000 square feet of exhibition space adjacent to the existing convention center and a new power plant for the facility, according to the 2021 publication.
Construction is underway for the East Extension of the convention center and the Omni Hotel, according to the builder. The second phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.
