OWENSBORO, Ky.
The downtown Owensboro convention center promises to be quite an experience--walls of glass on its north and south facades, big exhibition halls overlooking the river, upper-level ballrooms, a fancy lobby and escalators and elevators to move guests from level to level.
But it won't have everything. For example, it won't have windows on the east and west sides, meaning people in the ballrooms will be deprived of a view of the Mitch McConnell Plaza or the front of the Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel. It will have two elevators, but not three as originally planned. Exterior glass will not be crystal clear but have a slight tint. In the bathrooms, the toilet partitions will be mounted on the floor, not hung from the ceiling, and those partitions will be made of a plastic material instead of the classier look of stainless steel. It also will not have a 12,000-pound capacity freight elevator. Plans call for the capacity to be 10,000 pounds. And, it will not have a series of available upgrades to its electrical infrastructure.
If the convention center had all those extras, it would have even more to offer. But budget constraints may prohibit all of them. On the other hand, if construction bids on the building come in lower than expected, some of the 17 "add alternates" may yet become part of the building.
Courtesy of the Messenger-Inquirer
