CINCINNATI CONVENTION CENTER

Located in the heart of Downtown Cincinnati, at 55-years-old the Cincinnati Convention Center was in need of significant updates to make it more attractive, useful, flexible and environmentally friendly in a way that would last for decades.

At the request of the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 3CDC led the effort to reimagine the space. The upgraded building’s exterior design features an elongated glass façade while the inside houses 12,000 square feet of modernized, extended exhibit hall space, upgraded meeting and ballrooms, as well as major improvements to building systems and technology making it much more energy efficient. The project also includes a two-acre park and outdoor convention space across Elm Street on the former Millennium Hotel site that was adjacent to the convention center. 3CDC hired Messer Construction to serve as construction manager who worked in partnership with Triversity Construction and Jostin Construction. The project broke ground in July 2024 and was completed, in just 18 months, in December 2025.

The revamped convention center will be complemented by a convention headquarters hotel conveniently located directly across the street, just south of the convention center. Portman Holdings, a developer with experience overseeing many similar projects, has been recommended by stakeholder groups in the Cincinnati region to enter into exclusive negotiations with 3CDC to serve as the developer of the hotel. The hotel will include 700 rooms, 62,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, a full-service 3 meal restaurant and outdoor bar overlooking 5th Street, an outdoor event terrace including a lawn and deck, and a skybridge connecting to the convention center. It will join the Marriott Hotels brand portfolio and anchor Cincinnati’s reimagined Convention District, marking a major milestone in the city’s efforts to transform the area into a premier destination for large-scale meetings, events and tourism. Construction is expected to begin in Q4 2025.

CONVENTION DISTRICT PROJECT UPDATES