How Lexington County could get a new, multi-million dollar conference center
The days of Lexington businesses and organizations having to look across the river to Columbia for their big events may be coming to an end.
Lexington could soon be getting its own conference center thanks to a $1 million commitment in the state budget.
Lexington Mayor Steve MacDougall said the money will go toward plans for a new gathering place somewhere near Lake Murray, a long-term goal for the community that now has the financial backing to get off the ground.
MacDougall said the town is close to securing a property near the scenic lakeside. While the final scope of the new center may depend on how much land can be acquired and where, the mayor foresees the new conference center as being a space to hold meetings and community events, but potentially other attractions.
“It could have a creative arts component, maybe host plays and ballets, and have a multi-use feature so it could be used all the time, not just on weekends,” MacDougall said.
The Lexington conference center will include an on-site parking garage and potentially at least one hotel on site, MacDougall said.
The $1 million will go toward developing architectural plans for the future conference center, but “that $1 million doesn’t scratch the surface” of what will be needed to complete the project, the mayor said. The final project could cost around $35 million, and the town may seek additional funding from the state. The town of Lexington will provide utility services to the center, which would be owned either wholly or in part by the town or Lexington County.
Lexington County is currently a part owner and financial supporter of the shared Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center on Lincoln Street. MacDougall doesn’t see the two as being in competition with each other.
“It’s not geared toward the same traveling conventions,” he said. “This will complement downtown, but I don’t want them to go head-to-head.”
But with the original bonds on the Columbia convention center soon to be paid off, Lexington County may not fund any future work at the downtown center, which it now co-owns with Richland County and the city of Columbia. That change comes at a time when Columbia is looking at the possibility of expanding its convention center.
“I think Lexington County gives Columbia $2 million a year that goes across the river, but there’s a lot of money that could be generated in Lexington County,” said state Rep. Chris Wooten, R-Lexington, who co-sponsored the funding for the conference center in this year’s budget along with Rep. Paula Rawl Calhoun, R-Lexington. “I see it as an investment in our future.”
“I don’t think that relationship will die off,” said Wooten, “but we don’t need to hold Lexington County Night in Richland County.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 1:55 PM.
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