Broadway Hotel expansion means much needed conference space for Columbia

The Broadway Hotel’s expansion plans continue to move forward in Columbia. You can find previous reporting on the expansion here.

The expansion would include 80 more guest rooms, extra meeting space and a boardroom. There will be an additional tower, with a ballroom and reception area on the roof. Proposed walkways on the fourth and eighth floors will connect the two towers.

Broadway Hotel owner David Parmley said the new tower would triple the amount of space the hotel currently has.

Parmley said that Columbia in general would benefit from more suitable meeting space. He said sometimes the space shortage prevents big conferences with 1,000 attendees from choosing Columbia as a destination, which hurts the local economy.

Currently, because of cost increases for land and general construction and furnishings, the project is estimated to cost about $20 million. Parmley said that based on this escalation in costs, a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district would be needed for the project to be economically feasible.