Published September
2002
Market
study: Lynnwood
‘a viable location’ for conference center
By
John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor
The economic development
potential for Lynnwood’s new $30 million conference center has impressed
Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality, a facilities management company hired
to evaluate the potential for the south Snohomish County facility, yet
to be built.
“In the light of
current economic conditions, we’re finding that second-tier cities are
being sought after for (lower cost) conference space, especially if they
have value-oriented products. Lynnwood has that opportunity with its new
center, the expanded Alderwood Mall, its proximity to Seattle and lower
hotel rates than in the city,” said Shelley Tomberg, vice president of
marketing for Columbia Hospitality.
“We’re also looking
at how to market the facility for them when it’s closer to operating.
We believe they have a very strong niche — focusing on conventions and
business events — while Everett emphasizes sports and Edmonds wants to
present performing arts,” she said.
Tomberg said it’s
natural for area hotels to fear losing meeting business to the conference
center, but experience has proven that the center will offer facilities
the hotels don’t have. Smaller groups will be referred to the hotels by
the center staff when it’s appropriate, and drawing convention business
to Lynnwood will help fill hotel rooms, too.
“At the Bell Harbor
center in Seattle, we have a good working relationship with all of the
hotels. We complement their facilities, and we often bid together for
large conventions,” Tomberg said. “The technology in the Lynnwood center
will draw medical and other technical groups. The center will be a huge
benefit for the whole county, having more people driving there and spending
money in hotels and restaurants.”
The Lynnwood facility,
to be constructed in three phases on the former Cadillac dealership site
at 196th Street SW and 37th Avenue, will be a multi-use convention center
opening with 14,600 square feet of meeting space, accommodating up to
1,000 people in a theater seating or dining setting, after the dealership
building is remodeled.
Later, a 25,000-square-foot
main hall will be added, along with support areas for trade shows and
conventions. The final phase will add a 55,000-square-foot exhibition
hall, expanding the conference facility to nearly the size of Meydenbauer
Center in Bellevue.
The first phase will
be under way within the next few months, with the second phase expected
to be completed in three to five years and the final expansion finished
in five to seven years.
Columbia Hospitality,
active in hospitality management and consulting since 1995, operates several
premier venues in the Pacific Northwest, including Bell Harbor International
Conference Center in Seattle, the World Trade Center on the waterfront,
Aljoya Conference Center at Laurelhurst, Friday Harbor House on San Juan
Island, The Inn at Langley, The Resort at Deer Harbor on Orcas Island
and the Washington Mutual Leadership Center at Cedarbrook, in SeaTac.
That experience won
the firm a role in evaluating the future market for the Lynnwood Center,
but Tomberg has no expectations about managing the facility. The Seattle
business is serving only as a hospitality consulting firm at this point.
The Columbia market
study found that 90 percent of the meeting planners interviewed felt the
location near I-5 would be convenient, and 80 percent said they would
book a meeting at the location. Columbia considered the results “very
positive,” indicating that “Lynnwood is viewed as a viable location.”
All of the planners
in the survey were in state associations, businesses in Seattle, or in
north Seattle.
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