History
In 1997, the Lancaster Campaign and the Economic Development Action Group, made up of community members, contracted with LDR International in an effort to stimulate economic revitalization of the city of Lancaster, called the Economic Development Action Agenda (EDAA) for Prince and South Duke Streets and downtown Lancaster. The plan identified projects and strategies important to the development of these commercial areas. The list was reduced to seventeen strategies, including separate proposals to develop a new conference center and to revitalize Lancaster’s historic Watt & Shand building, which had been vacant since The Bon-Ton Department Store departed in 1995. The action agenda focused on the construction of a new conference center and the redevelopment of Lancaster Square, including the former Armstrong/Lancaster Square Building and the Hotel Brunswick. Separately, the plan recommended adaptive reuse of the Watt & Shand Building to include a mix of retail stores and offices, with one or more venues designed to attract tourists.
A Convention Center Task Force formed in 1998 to address the EDAA, called for the development of a meeting facility. As a result, the EDAA evolved to become a plan for a convention center and hotel at Penn Square. Task force members approached Penn Square Partners (PSP), who purchased the dormant Watt & Shand Building in February 1998, about the potential of developing the property into a privately-owned hotel.
After a marketing study of the hotel and convention center idea, Penn Square Partners and the Lancaster Foundation jointly petitioned the Lancaster County Commissioners to create a Convention Center Authority and to initiate a hotel room tax to support the project. On 15 September 1999, the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority (LCCCA) was established, and local officials appointed a seven-member volunteer board of directors.
In 2001, the LCCCA and PSP formalized their relationship for the purpose of developing, designing, building, and operating a convention center and hotel.
Read more about this topic: Lancaster County Convention Center
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