By Akanimo Sampson
New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, says the $1.5 billion Jacob K. Javits Center expansion project has been completed.
The huge project which adds 1.2 million square feet of total event-related space on Manhattan’s West Side, was completed on budget according to officials who praised the project executives for achieving this despite COVID-19 related challenges.
The center has operated as one of the busiest convention centers in the country.
With brand new equipment and technology, the newly expanded convention center on Manhattan’s West Side is featuring a great percentage more front-of-house and back-of-house areas.
It also includes new exhibit and meeting room areas, a glass-enclosed rooftop pavilion, and a truck marshaling facility that will help speed up event operations and reduce traffic congestion.
The project’s rooftop spaces include a pavilion, an outdoor terrace, a greenhouse, and a one-acre farm, which should be done in a couple of weeks.
The newly expanded Javits Center is going to be managed by New York Convention Center Operating Corporation.
It will feature more than 200,000 sq feet of new meeting room and pre-function space, including a 54,000 square-foot special event space; the largest event space of its kind in the Northeast.
“Re-investing in on our infrastructure is critical to saving our economy after COVID-19, and the expansion of the Javits Center will play a key role in bringing people back to New York and supporting local businesses”, the governor said.
“From operating as a COVID-19 field hospital to the largest vaccination center in the county, the Convention Center has demonstrated its importance to the recovery and resurgence of the Empire State, and this project reinforces their part in the state’s economic future.”
The newly-expanded Javits Center will feature 500,000 contiguous square feet of event space, which will help the facility attract international business conferences.
