GEDDES, N.Y. — Crews have installed the final piece of structural steel in the roof of the upcoming exposition center at New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes.
The office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday called it a “milestone in the construction” effort.
HBP Joint Venture, a partnership between Syracuse–based Hueber-Breuer Construction Co. Inc. and the Rochester–based Pike Company, is building the expo center. The state announced in late December that the construction work had started.
The contract with HBP Joint Venture is valued at more than $62 million — with $50 million included in the fiscal year 2017-18 state budget and the balance coming from the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, the state said.
When the expo center opens for this year’s New York State Fair, the 136,000-square-foot structure will be the “largest” indoor events space north of New York City between Boston and Cleveland, Cuomo’s office said in a news release issued Monday.
The state expects the construction project will create more than 700 jobs, the office added.
The new facility, along with the ongoing renovation of the Fair’s orange parking lot, is part of the second phase of Cuomo’s $120 million plan to “revitalize” the State Fair and Fairgrounds
“This marks a significant milestone in the construction of the Fairgrounds’ expo center, an investment that will deliver real economic benefits to the people of Central New York,” Cuomo said in the release. “Upon completion, this project will not only help to boost State Fair attendance to record numbers, but will also enhance all that the region has to offer with a year-round event space that will attract visitors and businesses from across the nation.”
The state is working to finalize a contract with a private firm that will market the expo center to potential clients, Cuomo’s office said but didn’t name the firm.
New York chose the company following a request-for-proposals process that outlined the “specific expectations for the volume of events to be brought to the expo center and other Fairgrounds buildings,” the office added.
The state also expects the expo center to host “major” programming throughout the upcoming year.
Attracting events
The expo center, with 110,000 square feet of “clear-span” event space, will have the capacity to hold more than 500 10-feet-by-10-feet trade-show booths and 4,000 retractable seats.
The event space “will attract major” shows and special events, including car, boat, and recreational vehicle (RV) shows; pet expos; consumer and trade shows; home and garden shows; and tech expos.
It’ll also attract “other events that were previously unable to come to upstate New York due to lack of suitable space,” Cuomo’s office contends.
The building will join the Fairgrounds’ existing portfolio of event space, such as the Toyota Coliseum and the Center of Progress Building, increasing the amount of available indoor space on the grounds to more than 450,000 square feet.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com