By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The most striking feature of the newly expanded Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center - aside from the 60 percent increase in meeting and exhibit space - will be a two-story sign across the western facade of the building that will beckon: "CINCINNATI."

Drawing of expanded convention center as seen from the west. | ZOOM |

That's one of the ideas floated by the project's architect Wednesday as the preliminary plans for the $145 million expansion were presented to the city's Urban Design Review Board.

Deborah Sussman, a Los Angeles designer on the project team, said she could barely pick the convention center out of the downtown landscape when she first came to town. She proposes to fix that with a bold architectural statement.

"Let's use the gateway that the Convention Center is to make a statement about what this city really represents," she said. "In other words, let's use it as a brand, or an emblem."

Given the difficulty the city has had in expanding the center - and in attracting convention business in the midst of a local boycott and national recession - such a statement could help boost the tourism business and the city, supporters said.

As viewed from the south, the convention center would be expanded west (left). | ZOOM |

"Looking at the expansion they're talking about, it has to be looked at as a marketing opportunity," said Julie Harrison Calvert, a spokeswoman for the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Designing the expansion has been challenging, architects said. The convention center, built in 1967 and expanded in 1987, was a "big box" - useful, but not particularly interesting.

"The character you have in the existing building is not what you want in the new part," said project leader Mark Reddington of LMN Architects. "A convention center is elusively complicated in how it functions. It's very important for this kind of building to have a complete idea of how it all comes together."

Architects presented the plans to the city panel Wednesday to get early feedback on the design, before coming back with more specific plans next month. Board members say they're concerned that with so much attention to the western half of the building - where most of the expansion will take place - the design team was ignoring the Elm Street entrance.

Cinergy Corp., which bought naming rights for the expanded center for $12 million, wants its emblem to go at the corner of Sixth and Elm streets. Exactly how that will look hasn't been decided.

"We're not expecting them to take the `Cinergy Field' sign off the stadium and just plaster it on this building," said city architect and project manager Mark McKillip.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com