On November 30th, 2015, the SOM-designed renovation of the Monterey Conference Center broke ground in Monterey, California. The celebration attracted a crowd of city dignitaries and community members. SOM Design Director Michael Duncan attended the event to introduce this important project and the people who made it possible:
“This is a major milestone. After years of planning, discussion, consensus building, and design, we are ready to start building. It has taken many people who have committed their time, energy, and tremendous enthusiasm to shape and support this project. What we have all created is a building about connections: a place where people come together to connect with new ideas and with each other, and a place for connecting a new generation of visitors with the city of Monterey. This project is about reinvigorating this old building, bringing new life to the heart of the city, and strengthening the connection between the downtown and the waterfront. It is about connecting a city with a rich historic past to its future.”
Responding to the needs of Conference Center’s customers for more flexible and usable meeting space, the renovation will add more than 40,000 square feet of meeting space to increase the facility’s total capacity to 3,200 people. Completed in 1977, the building will be modernized with upgraded technology and systems to meet ADA requirements and to qualify for LEED® certification. Construction is expected to begin in the coming days, with the first floor scheduled to reopen in late summer 2016 and the grand opening of the entire Conference Center coming in early 2017.