“A decade of delivery.” That’s what Michael Sawaya promised when he took the helm of New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in February 2018, fresh off assisting San Antonio with a $325 million expansion. Less than a year in, he’s already delivering for New Orleans.
This past June, (the same month Sawaya was featured on the cover of Biz New Orleans) the governing board of the convention center approved a $558 million, five-year capital improvement plan to allow for the development of the Convention Center Headquarters Hotel.
Described by Sawaya in June as the “first order of business,” as a headquarter hotel is something most tier 1 destination cities like New Orleans already have, the planned 1,200-room Omni Hotel (operated by Omni Hotel & Resorts) recently received an independent analysis that projected the hotel would create an additional 172,000 room nights into the market annually, resulting in an additional $208 million in spending and create 1,900 new permanent jobs. The result of all of this would be an annual total economic impact to the city of $282 million, including $18 million in new taxes for the city and $6 million for Louisiana.
Sawaya says negotiations for the hotel began in December, with construction anticipated to begin around the end of next summer and completion in 2023 in time for the Super Bowl.
June’s capital improvement plan also included the approval of a 7.5-acre pedestrian park that will span the length of the convention facility along Convention Center Boulevard. The pedestrian park will include a transportation center connected to the building via a covered walkway, as well as outdoor entertainment spaces, seating areas, public art and water features. Construction on Convention Center Boulevard began in September with expected completion in the summer of 2020.
“A hotel has to have more than just a convention center to support it, so in 2019 we will be busy aggressively planning to add more activity around the area,” he said, “which will include entering into development with various mixed-use, residential and retail components, as well as creating a strong entertainment district.
Sawaya can see it all in his mind, and it’s incredible.
“I’d like to live over there,” he said. “Wouldn’t you?”
