Designed for the future of meetings, WSCC addition fulfills demands of planners and attendees

SEATTLE – Just three months after groundbreaking the sales teams at Visit Seattle and Washington State Convention Center have a lot to celebrate as the ink dries on their first client agreement for the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC) Summit building. With a planned opening of Spring 2022, the Summit building is one and a half blocks from the existing building, Arch, creating a campus environment for future meetings.

NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education is the first group to sign with the Summit and Arch buildings together. In March of 2024, NASPA will fill both Arch and Summit buildings and will use more than 10 hotels among its 6,890 attendees.

“Seattle is one of the most exciting cities not only for its thoughtfully built buildings and pioneering companies, but also because of the way the city fosters innovation and drives the creative environment for engaging attendees at our event,” Stephanie Gordon, vice president for professional development at NASPA said. “Our group has long wanted to return to Seattle with our delegates but our annual conference was too large to fit into just the existing building. The addition of Summit gives us the opportunity to design our programming in a campus like setting.”

 “This building’s strategic location connects neighborhoods to downtown Seattle and to the Convention Center’s offerings,” said Frank Finneran, WSCC Board Chair. “Having the first agreement signed for 2024 is extremely gratifying since the project has required the collective effort of many people. We are excited about the facility’s capacity to bring not only more meetings and conventions to Seattle but more jobs and opportunities to the people who call Seattle home.”

Local architect firm, LMN Architects designs convention centers and hotels of the future including Seattle’s largest hotel, Hyatt Regency Seattle slated to open in mid-December 2018. By the end of the year, a total of seven new properties will augment an already outstanding brand mix thereby increasing the city’s hotel supply by 20%.

 “The design of the Summit building highlights the nature of Seattle as a hub for creativity and a dynamic community,” said Mark Reddington of LMN Architects. “The building embraces natural light on every level and offers impressive views of the city’s special features like Pike Place Market, the Puget Sound, and the energetic scenes of the downtown experience.”