Wenatchee Convention Center Cuts Ribbon on 19,000 Square Feet of New Access

The City of Wenatchee and West Coast Hospitality cut the ribbon on the newly renovated Wenatchee Convention Center Monday evening.

READ MORE: Wenatchee Convention Center Expands with 19,000 Square Foot Addition

What the Expansion Includes

"When you add 19,000 square feet, I thought about it, if your house is 2,000 square feet, what is that, 40 more homes," said Mayor Mike Poirer, who cut the ribbon. "I put it in that perspective, so if we have that many more conventions here, a total of 60,000 square feet now, and take some of those conventions were going somewhere else here, that means the people are coming here and paying the hotel tax, which makes sure we can continue to grow."

The new renovations connect the Numerica Performing Arts Center to the convention center. It also allows direct access from North Wenatchee Ave.

“This expansion represents a major milestone for the Wenatchee community,” said Doug Rigoni, President and CEO of West Coast Hospitality, which manages the center. “We are proud of our long-standing partnership with the City of Wenatchee, and this addition further enhances the city’s ability to host conferences, performances, and special events—bringing new energy, opportunity, and excitement to downtown.”

How the Renovation Improves Downtown Access

The upper level welcomes visitors along North Wenatchee Ave. with the Fountain Hall.

City Facilities Manager Elisa Schafer said this project took a little longer than initially planned by about eight weeks based on changes they made. However, with those changes, developers actually beat their goal by two days.

The Project Timeline and Construction Challenges

"This has been a really fun project; downtown businesses and the public were really patient with us," Schafer said. "We thank them to the nth degree for their ability to deal with unexpected delays in parking and noise disruptions. We appreciate the patience, and I hope they're able to see that we created this beautiful building."

Schafer added the City typically budgets between 10 and 12 percent contingency funds for unexpected expenses. The project came in at roughly eight percent contingency, which she described as positive.