Two topics related to the Downtown Event and Entertainment District are to be discussed at Wednesday’s Governance and Priorities Committee meeting. The first, is the design option for the convention centre to be carried forward to future detailed design. Several potential options for either a completely new facility or an expansion and renovation were evaluated by the Technical Advisor team of external consultations, City Administration and TCU Place.

Options 4a and b were chosen by the team and from that, Administration suggests Option 4b be approved for future design study. Option 4a would mean a new convention centre to the west of the theatre across Auditorium Avenue, utilizing the YMCA property and city-owned parcels at the southeast corner of Idylwyld Drive and 22nd Street. It would mean having to permanently close Auditorium Avenue and tearing down the Y. Option 4b would be a renovation of the existing convention centre spaces and a more compact expansion to the west of the theatre across Auditorium Avenue, utilizing the YMCA property and edging into the City-owned land at the southeast corner of Idylwyld Drive and 22nd Street. It too would mean having to close Auditorium Avenue and tearing down the YMCA.

The second topic of discussion is buying the YMCA property for just over $8.5 million. The report from Administration says the City and the YMCA first began conversations about the potential purchase of the property back in 2013.