Turner wins $180m Calfornian expansion job

Turner Construction, the American subsidiary of German contractor Hochtief, has been awarded a $180m expansion of the Anaheim Convention Centre in southern California. The new wing will be a separate steel and glass structure connected to the existing centre by a climate-controlled bridged. 

The 1.6 million-square-foot venue last year hosted 238 trade shows, conventions, meetings and consumer events. It is hoped that the extra 200,000 square feet to be added by Turner will allow it to host larger conventions, such as the national convention of music merchants’ trade show.  

Kevin Dow, the general manager of Turner’s Southern California office, said: "We are pleased to be working on such a great project in our own backyard. This addition to the world-class convention centre will continue to ensure that Anaheim’s hospitality industry has all the tools necessary to thrive into the future".

The work is to be funded by Anaheim city council, using a $300m bond issue. Some $265m of that bond was to have been underwritten by Citigroup. It was reported in the local press that this arrangement has fallen through after a community group, the Coalition of Anaheim Taxpayers for Economic Responsibility, launched a legal challenge to the council’s actions. 

A spokesperson Anaheim council said: "Unfortunately, the originally targeted investors were not willing to accept the litigation risk and chose not to proceed even though the city, the city attorney and bond counsel were of the opinion that such litigation would not likely succeed."  The council is now looking to reach a settlement with the group.