Lancaster County Convention Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lancaster County Convention Center |
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| General information | |
| Location | 3 East Vine Street Lancaster, PA 17603 |
| Coordinates | 40°2′15″N 76°18′17″W / 40.03750°N 76.30472°W |
| Construction started | 2006 |
| Completed | 2009 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Cooper Carry |
The Lancaster County Convention Center (LCCC) is a big building in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, where large meetings, shows, and events happen. It's like a huge event space! Work on the center started in late 2006 and finished in the summer of 2009. This project was part of a bigger plan to make downtown Lancaster a lively and exciting place again.
The convention center is connected to the Lancaster Marriott hotel, which is the tallest building in Lancaster. The hotel's lobby and shared areas include parts of the old Watt & Shand department store building. This old building was once considered a special historic place. Building the hotel and convention center cost about $177.6 million.
History of the Convention Center
In 1997, some people from the community formed groups to help make Lancaster's downtown better. They came up with a plan to improve the city's business areas. This plan included ideas for a new meeting center and for fixing up the historic Watt & Shand building. The Watt & Shand building had been empty since 1995 when a department store moved out.
The plan suggested building a new convention center and improving Lancaster Square. It also recommended finding new uses for the old Watt & Shand building, like turning it into shops and offices to attract visitors.
In 1998, a special group called the Convention Center Task Force was created. They decided that building a meeting facility was a good idea. So, the plan changed to focus on building a convention center and a hotel together at Penn Square. Another group, Penn Square Partners (PSP), bought the empty Watt & Shand building in 1998. They thought about turning it into a hotel.
After studying the idea, Penn Square Partners and the Lancaster Foundation asked local leaders to create a special group called the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority (LCCCA). This new group would help manage the project. They also asked for a special tax on hotel rooms to help pay for it. On September 15, 1999, the LCCCA was officially started, and a group of seven volunteers was chosen to lead it.
In 2001, the LCCCA and Penn Square Partners officially joined forces. Their goal was to plan, design, build, and run both the convention center and the hotel.
How the Project Was Paid For
In January 2000, Lancaster County leaders added a small tax (3.9%) on hotel room rentals. This tax was meant to help pay for building and promoting the convention center. A part of this money (20%) is used to attract people and events to the convention center and the city.
However, some hotel owners didn't agree with the new tax. They filed lawsuits, which are legal challenges, against it. Because of these lawsuits, the convention center project was put on hold for three years.
In April 2003, the project was redesigned and made bigger. A new report about marketing the center was finished in 2006. In early 2006, Penn Square Partners sold the old Watt & Shand property to the city of Lancaster. The city bought the building for $7 million, even though it had originally sold for $1.25 million. The money borrowed to build the center is expected to be paid back using money earned from the hotel in the future.
Even though the first plans for the convention center wanted to reuse the historic Watt & Shand building, only its front (called the façade) was kept. The rest of the building was taken down in 2006 and 2007. The people in charge said the building couldn't be fixed up and used as it was.
Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Historic Site
The Lancaster County Convention Center project also includes the preserved outside of the home and law office of Thaddeus Stevens. It also includes the boarding houses of his close friend, Lydia Hamilton Smith. These historic sites are now part of the convention center's entrance and lobby on Vine Street.
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The home and law office of Thaddeus Stevens.
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The outside of the Lydia Hamilton Smith house.
