Spring 2006

Ocean Center expansion kicks into high gear

One of our most frequent (and one of the most important) stories is the $63-million expansion of the county’s Ocean Center, a project that has kicked into high gear.
As the pace of construction quickens, county officials and Ocean Center management recently hosted the community to a Neighbor's Forum as part of the county’s commitment to keep the public informed of the project’s progress. At the event, neighbors and other interested individuals were given an update on the project, its impact on the immediate neighborhood, design changes and more. Design and construction engineers participated in a question and answer session elaborating on elements of a video presentation that gave viewers an insiders look at what the Ocean Center is about to become.

“Communication is a priority for us at every stage of this project,” said Volusia County Chair Frank Bruno, who welcomed a group of more than 50 interested citizens to the forum.

In preparation for vertical construction which is expected by early summer Wild Olive and Oleander avenues from Earl Street to Auditorium Boulevard have been closed. Fences have gone up around the west parking lot, where construction of new exhibit space will take place. All of this supports the commencement of the ambitious and long anticipated construction stage of expansion activity.

“Planning for this project dates back to 1994,” said Ocean Center Director Rick Hamilton, who said an expanded Ocean Center will be a catalyst to making the region more competitive among the meeting, convention and event markets and less dependent upon volatile tourism markets. When the project is completed, the Ocean Center complex will have more than doubled in size to more than 500,000 square feet. Exhibit space will have increased from 60,000 - 164,000 square feet and the complex will have become the fifth largest in Florida, up from its current ranking of seventeenth.

The project is being financed with bonds, which are supported by taxes collected countywide on tourist accommodations. The bonds will be paid off over the next 30 years. A 2004 feasibility study cites a potential 70 percent increase in Ocean Center attendance following completion of the expansion. If that projection becomes reality within a few years of completion of the project, the bonds could be paid off earlier than scheduled, Hamilton said.

County officials are encouraged by the design and utility of the project as well as private sector investments being made in the area surrounding the Ocean Center, which is marketed as a part of Ocean Walk Village. The area includes shops, restaurants, movie theaters, and hotels including the newly expanded Hilton Daytona Beach Ocean Walk Village (formerly the Adam’s Mark Resort). Progress reports will be posted at oceancenter.com and oceanwalkvillage.com on the internet.