California & Northwest Industry News: February 2023

Seattle Convention Center Opens $2B Downtown Addition

The Seattle Convention Center’s $2-billion downtown addition, known as Summit, opened last month. North America’s first high-rise convention center nearly doubles the capacity of the Seattle Convention Center, with Summit and the original Arch Building, located one and half blocks away, now totaling 1.5 million sq ft.

“This project was more complex and difficult than building in the suburbs, but the vision has now become a reality.”
—Frank Finneran, Chair of the Seattle Convention Center Board of Directors

Summit includes 573,770 sq ft of event space and includes 62 meeting rooms; a 58,000-sq-ft column-free and divisible ballroom featuring 3,900 suspended planks of reclaimed wood; 248,450 sq ft of exhibit space; 140,700 sq ft of naturally lit lobby space; and the 14,000-sq-ft outdoor garden terrace.

Convention Center officials say they were forced to turn away more than 300 potential events due to the unavailability of space in the Arch Building on the dates desired between 2012 and 2015. As of December, convention center officials said they had 58 events booked at Summit, with an additional eight using both the Arch and the Summit. The Summit project broke ground in August of 2018 after an extensive planning and design period. Developed by Pine Street Group, the project team designer was LMN Architects while Clark/Lewis served as the contractor.

“This project was more complex and difficult than building in the suburbs, but the vision has now become a reality,” Frank Finneran, chair of the SCC board of directors, said in a statement.

Barstow, Calif., Bridge Project Awarded

The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority awarded Skanska a $30-million contract in January to build a new North 1st Avenue Bridge over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railyard in Barstow, Calif.

The project is expected to start by spring and is scheduled to be completed next year.

A new two-lane bridge will replace the original span built in the 1930s.

Construction of a new seven-span post-tensioned concrete box girder bridge over 17 BNSF tracks includes realignment of North 1st Avenue; demolition of the existing 29-span steel truss and steel/timber girder bridge across the BNSF railyard; utility relocation; drainage improvements; and lighting improvements.

The bridge will include standard 8-ft shoulder widths and an 8-ft sidewalk, allowing for safer passage by pedestrians.

The new bridge will also provide safety benefits and accommodate all legal truck and permit vehicles, Skanska says.