Posted Jan 4, 2019, 5:33 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: San Francisco
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Quote:
San Francisco readies for convention boom as $550 million Moscone Center expansion opens
By Katie Burke – Food/Hospitality/Retail Reporter, San Francisco Business Times
Jan 3, 2019, 9:53am PST Updated Jan 3, 2019, 6:11pm EST
Nearly two years after it closed for a $550 million renovation, San Francisco’s larger Moscone Center reemerges this week, aiming to take the city’s convention business into a new era.
Expanded by 350,000 square feet, Moscone’s north and south wings are now fully connected, creating up to 500,000 square feet of flexible and contiguous convention space and allowing San Francisco to host simultaneous conventions.
. . . Over the past four decades, a sea of parking lots and dilapidated warehouses has been transformed into one of the city’s densest and most vibrant neighborhoods.
“The building was built for the neighborhood at the time. It was much more of a fortress and was isolated from the rest of the neighborhood. As the neighborhood has grown, a lot due to the fact that Moscone was there, it has changed dramatically,” said Joe D’Alessandro, CEO of SF Travel. “The new building is a more urban structure that comes to the sidewalk, is more pedestrian friendly and dramatic, with a design and public art that will be noticed right away.”
The goal behind Moscone’s overhaul was never to attract bigger conventions. Rather, it was to make the space as efficient as possible and maximize Moscone’s economic benefits.
. . . Moscone North and South means different conventions can run simultaneously, creating a steadier stream of business instead of a giant wave that overwhelms local restaurants and hotels but then dissipates several days later.
With a land constrained location in a dense area, the center’s expansion was always going to be relatively modest. Prior to the expansion, the convention center was the 25th largest in the country. Now, it’s 17th . . . .
Thanks to new, repeat and expanding convention clients, this year is already slated to hit a record, with more rooms booked in San Francisco for attendees than ever before. More than 1.2 million rooms have been reserved in 2019, and more than 985,000 rooms are already booked for 2020. Both of those figures are expected to increase as Moscone lands last-minute bookings. One newcomer is the IBM Think conference in February, which will bring in 30,000 people and book more than 112,280 hotel room nights. In July 2020, the International AIDS Conference will host 25,000 attendees and book nearly 55,000 room nights.
. . . with very few additions to the city’s stock of hotels, there isn’t enough supply to absorb the rise in demand.
However, the Hotel Council and D’Alessandro are cheered by the three new hotels near Moscone expected to open within the first quarter. The Virgin Hotel, Yotel and the Hyatt Place will add a combined 627 rooms.
The city is also moving ahead with a convention hotel (and affordable housing) that would replace a public parking garage at 255 Third St. across from the Moscone Center.
Four development teams are vying to build that project . . . .
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https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfranc...671#g/447998/4
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