Jefferson City still looking to open conference center on time despite loss in state funding
Nia Hinson
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Leaders in Jefferson City say they’re still on track to open a new conference center downtown.
That’s despite a loss of $20 million that was supposed to help pay for the project after state lawmakers cut the funds during its special session. Leaders in Jefferson City met Wednesday night about the financial aspects of the center, which is being built on Capitol Avenue between Madison Street and Monroe Street.
The city is aiming to have it built by June 2028.
President of the Jefferson City Regional Economic Partnership Luke Holtschneider said the city is hoping to try again in the future.
“The state is a partner, and just based on proximity and the use of the parking garage as part of this overall development, continue and engage with the state and see if there can be some partnership,” Holtschneider said.
The center will hold roughly 29,000 square feet of conference space and 204 hotel rooms, according to Jefferson City Regional Economic Partnership’s website. Holtschneider said the city is still having discussions about what the hotel will be, but it’s been narrowed down to Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt, who have all expressed interest.
Mayor Ron Fitzwater called the news regarding losing state funding a “gut punch.” However, Fitzwater said the city wont give up on the project because of it.
“We’re going to rally around it,” Fitzwater said. “Hopefully, we can go back to the legislature next year, make our case again, work with the governor’s office and hopefully this time get in the initial governor’s budget…. We need this conference center in the capital city and we’re staying laser-focused on that effort.”
Fitzwater said 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.
“There are other things we have not looked at yet and we didn’t want to put it in the financing,” Fitzwater said. “We’ve not looked at naming rights and some other revenue sources. They’re not going to close the entire $20 million but they’ll help us close it a little, so every additional thing we do can will help 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. Holtschneider said the city is working with a private parking operator to try and come up with a plan.
“They would look at developing a displacement plan that would ultimately help the city mitigate some of the downtime during the demolition and construction of the new project…utilizing existing parking assets within the city, and potentially some private parking lots to accommodate those that would be displaced during the demolition of the existing garage.”