Javits Center to get $1 billion makeover

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is announcing a $1 billion expansion plan to make Manhattan's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center "the convention center for the next generation."

Cuomo said Thursday that construction will start this year and will add 344,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, 400,000 square feet of operational space and 479,000 feet for delivery truck parking.

The announcement came four years after Cuomo proposed razing the Javits Center and replacing it with a new convention center in Queens.

Cuomo in 2012 called the Javits Center "obsolete and not large enough to be a top-tier competitor in today's marketplace."

He said Thursday that Javits is the busiest convention center in the country. But he said it must grow to remain competitive.

A day earlier, the governor outlined plans to renovate Pennsylvania Station and build a train and retail hub inside the general post office across Eighth Avenue.

"Penn Station is un- New York. It is ugly," said Cuomo. "Frankly, it's a miserable experience."

The administration is soliciting proposals and laying out five plans for a new facility.

With the Associated Press