The event focused on the last piece of structural steel for the facility and included a beam signing and hoisting, as well as the signing of one of the facility’s latest contracts – with the PA League of Cities & Municipalities (PLCM).
Key speakers included: PA State Senator Gib Armstrong; PA State Representative Mike Sturla; Lancaster County Commission Chair Dennis Stuckey; Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray; Nevin Cooley, president of Penn Square General Corp.; Kevin Molloy, executive director of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority (LCCCA); Tim Lease, PA Dutch CVB chair; Jack Garner, executive director of the PLCM; and Josh Nowak, director of sales and marketing for the hotel and convention center.
“In 50 years, when people look at this beam, they will have forgotten all of the people who signed it, but they will not forget this facility’s impact in taking Lancaster city and county to the next level of tourism,” noted Senator Armstrong.
“We’re very excited about this milestone, which represents continued progress toward opening a superb facility whose positive economic impact will be felt in downtown Lancaster and throughout the county,” stated Lease of the PA Dutch CVB. “We’re all beaming about today.”
Situated in the heart of downtown Lancaster and seamlessly incorporating the façade of the historic Watt & Shand department store, the convention center and adjoining 300-room hotel will offer a combined 90,000 square feet of meeting space and the latest technology for conventions, events, and trade shows.
“In Lancaster, we can dream big dreams and see them come true,” said Cooley of Penn Square General Corp., which will lease the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square from the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Lancaster. “Today’s event is like reaching the crest of a mountain. When you reach the top, you see the future of the economy for this city and county.”
Molloy with the LCCCA – owner of the convention center – echoed that sentiment. “This ‘topping off’ marks an important day in the facility’s development, as it serves to remind our community, the Commonwealth, and the region that the Lancaster County Convention Center is poised to open next spring.”
Unique from traditional northeast meeting locations, Lancaster is centrally located to the metropolitan cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and New York, yet offers a wonderful blend of urban style and rural splendor. Both the convention center and hotel are scheduled to open in spring 2009. For a virtual tour of the facility, visit http://www.lancasterconventioncenter.com/vrtour.asp.
The Lancaster County Convention Center and Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square is operated by Interstate Hotels & Resorts, the nation’s largest independent hotel management company.
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Invited guests and news media listen as PA State Sen. Gib Armstrong, a long-time supporter of the project, speaks before the beam signing and hoisting.
