CITY BEAT 12-1-2001

Meetings & Conventions: Newsline newsline.gif (8042 bytes) CITY BEATFresno, Calif.
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NEW CONSTRUCTION
City officials approved in late October what eventually will be the largest hotel in Fresno. The 15-story, 400-room Wyndham, with 22,000 square feet of meeting space, will anchor the L-shaped Fresno Convention Center Exhibit Hall. Following Sept. 11, the $78 million project was scaled back to $61 million. Groundbreaking should take place this winter; completion is set for 2004.

Virginia Beach, Va.
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WATERFRONT PROJECT
Preliminary plans were unveiled in November for a 400-room beachfront luxury hotel, along with retail and restaurant space, parking and an extension of the boardwalk known as Rudee Walk. The project is meant to support a new convention center. Work on the latter has yet to begin, but plans indicate the new facility will triple the amount of meeting and exhibit space currently available at the Pavilion Convention Center, which has 71,000 square feet. City officials hope to begin shopping the project to developers in early 2002.