The Connecticut Convention Center

As it took shape on Hartford's riverfront over the past two years, the Connecticut Convention Center became a massive physical presence on the city's landscape. Now it is about to become an economic presence as well. The nearly completed hotel and attached convention center that loom over I-91 will claim a list of Hartford superlatives when they open later this year, capping a two-decade effort to build a convention center in Hartford.

The convention center, with 1.6 million square feet of space including its parking decks, will be the largest new public building since the opening of the Hartford Civic Center 30 years ago. The Hartford Marriott Downtown will open as the city's largest hotel, with 409 rooms and 22 floors. And with a combined cost topping $300 million, the complex will be the most expensive pair of buildings ever built in Hartford.

What remains unknown, even to enthusiastic convention officials, is whether the economic payoff will fully justify the $230 million that the state's general fund paid for the project - a cost taxpayers will be footing until the state bonds are repaid in 2024.

Source: Hartford Courant- February 27, 2005