Project Team Breaks Ground on Elm Street Plaza

New two-acre flexible space in development for convention and public use

CINCINNATI (September 9, 2024) – After starting construction on the renovation of Cincinnati’s convention center in July, Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) and other project partners have broken ground on Elm Street Plaza, the next step in the collective $700 million reimagined Convention District. Messer Construction Co. – working in partnership with Triversity Construction and Jostin Construction – is serving as the construction manager on the convention center renovation, including the creation of the Elm Street Plaza.

The project will transform the 500-block of Elm Street, now permanently closed to vehicular traffic, and the long-vacant site of the former Millennium Hotel into a two-acre flexible outdoor venue with a balance of paved event space and vegetated landscape to provide cooling, shade, and comfort, as well as pedestrian connection to the convention center’s first-floor exhibit halls. Elm Street Plaza will be home to a pavilion structure, restrooms, and a bar for socializing and refreshments. These design inclusions are critically important features, allowing Elm Street Plaza to serve its primary purpose of expanding the convention center’s usable space.

“In the growing convention world, outdoor event space is no longer an amenity; it is a necessity,” Katie Westbrook, Vice President of Development for 3CDC, said. “When sourcing venues for meetings and conventions, whether large or small, meeting planners aren’t just looking for more space; they are looking for unique and flexible space. Elm Street Plaza will play a major role in attracting and retaining revenue-driving convention business, benefiting the urban core and the Greater Cincinnati region. “

When Elm Street Plaza is not being utilized by convention clients, it will be open to the public. The current design plan includes additional amenities like a dog park, an interactive water feature, public art pieces, and the possibility of housing downtown’s ice rink in the future. 3CDC will manage community-centered programming at the space, similar to how the organization programs downtown’s existing civic spaces, including Fountain Square, Court Street Plaza, and Washington Park. In partnership with the City of Cincinnati, 3CDC is actively garnering feedback on potential events and programs to host at the space through community engagement sessions.

Elm Street Plaza’s construction timeline will parallel the convention center’s renovation, with a target completion date in late 2025. The convention center renovation is the initial project in plans for the reimagined Convention District, which also includes the construction of a new convention headquarters hotel slated to break ground in the first quarter of 2025 and multiple mixed-use development projects on key properties in the surrounding area.

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