Real Estate & Property Law

Convention Center Glut

By Alan Ackerman

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ)

The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, Appalachian Power Park, a new main library and an improved riverfront have dominated headlines over the past decade as improvements or proposed ideas to enhance the atmosphere of Charleston.

"The city needs a convention center," said one city councilman. "It will bring convention business, more money to the city and get more people spending money at hotels and restaurants."

Space is one of the big issues with the project.

"We need to update and expand the civic center to draw more regional conventions, but we need additional property to do that, such as the Beni Kedem and Fifth Quarter properties," one councilman said. "We need to expand it to be a full convention center with smaller rooms." WCAZ, Charleston, W.Va., 7\6\09

The plans for Charleston are a much-repeated ode in all too many communities.  'Give us a larger convention center, and then we will have more hotels and restaurants and downtown activities.'  However, the convention center simply becomes something similar to other centers in other communities or simply draws from other centers in the same State.  I am not high on centralized planning but building for non-business/ entertainment activity needs regional, if not state, planning. 

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on July 13, 2009 (boomark / email).