By the end of the year, the now carpeted corridor leading to the Trotter Convention Center’s auditorium will feature marbled flooring, ambient lighting and elegant drapery.
Inside the auditorium, a fresh coat of paint will complement a newly installed chandelier.
In the upstairs dressing rooms, bridal parties will enjoy a refurbished bridal suite adorned with rose gold accents, while downstairs, groomsmen will appreciate a masculine space defined by cool-toned paint alongside the recently renovated restrooms.
Those are just some of the updates coming to the Trotter Center after the Columbus City Council approved a $517,500 interior improvement project Tuesday night. The funds come from the city’s hotel tax revenue, which adds 2% to hotel and motel room bills in the city.
Director Rogena Bonner said the center’s upper level will be the primary focus of the interior improvements.
“That’s the phase we’re working on now, and then later on we’re going to come back with the lower level,” she said. “It seems like it may not be much, but it’s a lot when you’re trying to put it together.”
The biggest changes will be made in the front corridor with new furniture and vinyl tile flooring. Bonner said both dressing rooms, which are most frequently used by wedding parties, will be updated with new furniture and paint.
“(The auditorium) will probably be the last phase of the renovation because we’re still having events,” Bonner said.
Bonner said the center is working with JBHM Architecture on the interior design aspects of the project. The renovation will begin in the next few months, but its start date isn’t set in stone.
“With any renovation, you have to kind of wait,” Bonner said. “Contractors have to have supplies and materials, so we’re not sure just yet exactly what date everything will start. We’re on board to start any time, so when the materials come in, we’ll get started.”
Cook Development, which has done similar projects for the Mississippi University for Women and Columbus Municipal School District, will be handling the interior renovations. Owner L.C. Cook said he expects the project will get started in the next few months.
“We’re still awaiting some paperwork that needs to be finished, but I’m assuming late summer,” he told The Dispatch. “We anticipate (finishing) by the end of the year.”
Bonner said another phase, which will cost around $48,000, will update the exterior of Regal Hall on Fourth Street North. Bostick Construction will be the contractor for that phase of the project.
The last round of renovations at the Trotter wrapped up earlier this year. Those improvements included making several updates to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, reorienting parking on the north side of the building and removing some trees from the courtyard.
Before then, the center was last renovated in 2015 as a part of a project that ultimately cost more than $2 million.
Because the center is a focal point of the community, it’s important to make these regular upgrades, Mayor Keith Gaskin said.
“Regular renovations, upgrades and improvements for a highly used space like the Trotter needs to always be a priority for the city,” he wrote in a text to The Dispatch. “We are fortunate to have the resources available at this time, and we need to make sure we are budgeting properly going forward.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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