LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) – It’s a day that Arkansans have been waiting on for more than two years, and on Thursday, THV11 finally got a look at the renovated Robinson Center.
The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau celebrated the facility’s “Second Act” (grand re-opening) with a 10 a.m. press conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Governor Asa Hutchinson, Mayor Mark Stodola, Maestro Philip Mann of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Ed Payton of Celebrity Attractions’ Broadway Theater Series and Miss Arkansas Savannah Skidmore.
The official closing of the building took place on July 1, 2014, following the successful December, 2013 election to dedicate the existing 2 percent advertising and promotion tax to fund the project. After a 28-month-long renovation, this project will open on-time and on-budget – quite an accomplishment for any project of this size – especially one as complex as the Robinson Center.
“When working on a construction project of this magnitude, with many unknown variables regarding the structural integrity of a 76-year-old building, we are exceedingly grateful that we did not encounter significant unforeseen conditions, and very indebted to the team of architects, engineers and construction professionals that have worked on this project,” said LRCVB President and CEO, Gretchen Hall. “We could not have done this without our incredible project team led by Ennead Architects of New York, Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock and CDI/Hunt Joint Venture that served as our General Contractor and Construction Manager.”
