Money in. Money out.

The Lancaster County Convention Center Authority Thursday evening announced that it has been promised an additional $3 million and agreed to spend $1.8 million.

The additional funding has been promised to the project by state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong, a long-time supporter of the convention center project who is leaving office in January.

Armstrong said he is tapping a variety of state sources for the money, reported board member C. Ted Darcus at the authority's monthly meeting. The $3 million will be used to meet increased construction costs the convention center authority has seen since ground was broken for the combined $170 million project of the meeting center and the Marriott Lancaster at Penn Square hotel.

Armstrong is imposing one stipulation to the funding, Darcus said: it must only be used on the convention center project. That means an agreement with private-sector partner Penn Square Partners that evenly splits state funding would need to be waived.

The stipulation comes, Armstrong has said, because the authority has no other source of funds but those from public sources.

The authority also approved spending of $1.8 million for furniture, fixtures and equipment. That amount, which had already been budgeted, will allow for the purchase of banquet tables, office chairs and other items that will furnish the meeting center.

The convention center is being built at South Queen and East Vine streets. It is attached to the hotel, which is being built behind the facade of the former Watt & Shand department store building at South Queen and East King streets at Penn Square.

Steve Houser, of Reynolds Construction Management, reported that $74 million has already been spent on the construction, or 69 percent of the construction hard costs. The center and hotel are scheduled to open in March.

Penn Square Partners, the hotel developer, consists of general partner Penn Square General Corp., a High Industries affiliate, and limited partner Penn Square Ltd., LLC, an affiliate of Lancaster Newspapers, Inc., publisher of the Lancaster New Era, Intelligencer Journal and Sunday News.


Staff writer Bernard Harris can be reached at bharris@LNPnews.com or 481-6022.