Jefferson City outlines design plans for downtown conference center project
Mitchell Kaminski
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Jefferson City Council held a special session on Thursday to review plans for the new downtown conference center.
A design report outlined the 189,420-square-foot facility, which would be built between Madison and Monroe streets, with the main entrance on East Capitol Avenue.
The project includes a 200-room hotel, bar, conference room, grand ballroom, restaurant, coffee shop, and 526 parking spaces. City officials said the design aims to attract more visitors downtown and boost local business activity.
Designers are in talks with hotel brands including Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton, though Jefferson City will make the final decision on which brand is selected. The hotel will operate year-round, 24 hours a day, on behalf of the city.
The center is projected to generate a $584 million economic impact in its first decade, along with 372 jobs and $14 million in new local tax revenue, according to the report. City leaders hope the development will drive traffic to nearby restaurants, cafés, and shops, spurring further economic growth.
This is despite the project losing $20 million that was supposed to help pay for the center after state lawmakers cut the funds during its special session in May. During the planning process, hotel rooms were cut down from 250 to 200, but will not dip below 200, according to representatives of Looney and Associates, an interior design firm working on the project.
As part of the construction of the center, the capital city will also lose out on 400 parking spaces due to the demolition of the Madison Street parking garage. During the meeting, Councilman Aaron Mealy raised constituent concerns about parking, noting that businesses fear the demolition of the Madison Street garage will make it harder to find spaces.
The city has hired a parking operator, Parking Concepts Inc., to look into figuring out a ratio that will allow for the space to be used in the most efficient way.
Project designers said the conference center will provide one parking space per hotel room, leaving 326 spaces available. Looney and Associates added that most conference events are scheduled in the evening, outside normal business hours, which could help ease parking concerns.
Jefferson Center Mayor Ron Fitzwater told ABC 17 News in July that the center is slated to cost $130 million, but could change throughout the design phase of the project. He also said the city is considering other ways to make up for the loss, including “squeezing the project” to try and close the gap, or having good luck with interest rates falling over the next few years.
The project began in 2024 with planning and research. This year, the city moved forward with final design and construction plans. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion expected in 2028.