As momentum for the Javits Expansion and Modernization Plan has recently hit a fever pitch, it looks more likely than ever that New York’s long-antiquated convention center home will be getting a much-needed a far-overdue makeover, with a shovel going in the ground as early as this fall.

In recent months, a wide swath of elected officials and leaders from the business, labor and civic communities have offered their unfettered support for the state’s plan to expand the Javob K. Javits and putting New York back where it belongs in the convention business – on top.

On the West Side of Manhattan, the political leadership has been near-unanimous in its backing of the Expansion plan. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and State Senator Eric Schneiderman all back the plan.

These elected officials are lining up behind the plan for many reasons, but job-creation and revenue-generation for city coffers are among the top factors in their decisions.

This plan would create 6,350 permanent jobs and more than 15,000 construction-related jobs. It would also generate $1.1 billion in direct spending by delegates, exhibitors and event organizers annually for the city. It is estimated that an additional $47 million in incremental revenue will be generated annually as a result of this expansion.

As Speaker Quinn put it at a recent press conference, “The Javits Center expansion and modernization project will secure New York City's future economic opportunity by creating thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue.  Additionally, this expansion will bring New York City's rank up to where it belongs: as one of the top convention centers in the country. We cannot delay any longer on this project and continue to lose vital economic opportunities. Construction on this plan must begin immediately."

As support has grown, NYC & Company, New York’s tourism and marketing arm has already acquired a ton of new business predicated on the expansion getting underway by the end of this year.

Nine new conventions representing 310,000 hotel room nights and $228 million in economic activity for the city have already signed letters of intent to bring their business to New York

As NYC & Company Chairman Jonathan M. Tisch put it, the expansion and modernization of the Javits Center will bring more business, more visitor spending and more jobs not only to the West Side but to all five boroughs.”

Specifics of the plan – designed by a powerful triumvirate of architects from the world-renowned firms Richard Rogers Partnership, FX Fowle, and Epstein & Sons -- detail an ideal way to grow an urban convention center.

The Javits Center’s long-inadequate exhibition space will expand from 760,000 to 1.1 million square feet, representing a 45% increase.  Meeting room space will increase by 600% from 30,000 to 210,000 square feet, and the center will house the city’s largest ballroom.  In addition, a headquarters hotel directly across the street will help accommodate tens of thousands of additional convention attendees who will bring their business and visitor spending to New York

And that’s just phase one. Should financing be secured for a phase two, more than 500,000 square feet in additional exhibition space could easily be added.

The expansion – which would not necessitate any shutdown of Javits, allowing the convention center to continue to operate during construction – will skyrocket New York’s ranking compared to the rest of the nation.

In terms of overall size, New York will move from 16^th and into the top 10. As for meeting space, the expansion will finally make New York competitive with other locales. The current 30,000 square feet allotted to meeting space is dead last among large scale convention centers. But under this plan, meeting space – key to drawing the kinds of large-scale gatherings that are most beneficial to New York’s economy – will jump to 210,000 square feet.

The timeline for the Javits expansion is quickly moving toward completion. The New York Convention Center Operating Corporation overwhelmingly passed the General Project Plan after a public hearing that featured a litany of speakers from the tourism, labor and civic communities airing their wholehearted support.

The General Project Plan (GPP) must now be affirmed by the Convention Center Development Corporation and the Empire State Development Corporation. Finally, the Public Authority Control Board (PACB) must approve the GPP. Pre-construction activities are planned immediately following PACB approval, with groundbreaking scheduled for Fall 2006.

Manhattan Chamber of Commerce members interested in supporting this expansion and putting New York back atop the convention business are encouraged to write Gov. Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno – the three legislators with votes on the PACB – and let them hear the call to “Expand Javits Now!”