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Center of Attention

An 18-month overhaul is underway to bring the Duke Energy Convention Center up to modern standards.

by John Fox

Expanded multiple times since first opening in 1967, the Duke Energy Convention Center is undergoing a complete makeover that’s scheduled to take 18 months. 3CDC is leading the project with funding from the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

The downtown convention center covered one square block in 1967 and featured 95,000 square feet of exhibition space, making it one of the largest meeting facilities in the U.S. Expansions in 1984 and 2006 increased capacity to 750,000 square feet.

Opened as the Cincinnati Convention-Exposition Center, the facility was renamed in 1987 for Albert B. Sabin, who is credited for developing an oral polio vaccine at Cincinnati Children’s. The name was changed to Cinergy Center in 2006, and then Duke Energy Convention Center.

Public bonds were issued to fund the center’s renovation, backed by future transient occupancy tax income from the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County as well as direct capital contributions from both entities. The convention center and its new Elm Street Plaza are expected to reopen in January 2026.

3CDC is also managing construction of a new convention headquarters hotel across Fifth Street from the center. The 800-room hotel will be developed by Atlanta-based Portman Holdings, with the brand name still to be announced. Construction is set to begin in the first quarter of 2025, with the hotel opening in early 2027.

Total investment in these two Convention District projects is expected to top $700 million.

[Photograph by Chris Von Holle]

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