Long before any big trade shows rolled into the expanded spaces of Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, major construction work was on full display along two blocks on Manhattan’s West Side. In 2016, a Lendlease and Turner Construction Co. joint venture embarked on the facility’s $1.5-billion design-build expansion. The New York Convention Center Development Corp. sought to expand the iconic space, originally constructed in the 1980s, to compete with other global convention centers while providing economic enhancement to New York City. Collaborating with designer TVS, the joint venture was able to optimize the indicative design, reduce costs and improve the schedule.
The project called for design and construction of a 1.2-million-sq-ft expansion that would house 90,000 sq ft of exposition space, 200,000 sq ft of pre-function and meeting room space, a 6,000-person special event space and a four-level truck marshaling and loading dock structure.