Minneapolis Convention Center plans for $2.7 million bathroom remodel

Monday, March 19, 2018

Minneapolis Convention Center is planning to remodel its bathrooms with $2.7 million bid.

Shaw-Lundquist Associates Inc. was the low bidder of six contractors who vied for the project for Minneapolis Convention Center, and the Ways and Means Committee of the City Council is set to approve the contract on Tuesday.

The money comes from the annual budget of Minneapolis Convention Center, which is funded about equally from sales taxes and event revenue.

Kim Insley, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis Convention Center, said that all the 29 bathrooms will be renovated as part of the “competitive overhaul” project.

These restrooms are about 20 years old and they serve over a million people a year. These bathrooms need to be updated to the standards of the other restrooms to serve guests well. The renovation will make the bathrooms 50 percent more water-efficient, and their lights will burn less energy along giving a soothing experience. Some 32 other restrooms at the Minneapolis Convention Center, most of them smaller than the ones up for bid now, were remodeled recently at a cost of $3 million. The revamp work on the remaining restrooms will start from the month of April.

Minneapolis Convention Center struggles to break even and is continuously undergoing improvements to lead in the business market. The latest large city capital Minneapolis’ expenditure was $11 million devoted to rebuilding the grassy plaza across the street from the main entry.

Minneapolis Convention Center late last year approved spending $879,000 for plumbing, $605,000 to replace the front-of-house exterior lights and $317,000 to replace drinking fountains.

In October, the council finalized a $904,000 contract for dome lighting and in the past 12 months has authorized hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending for signage, wall sconces and ballroom lighting.

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