Conference center to be built on Madison Street in Jefferson City

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City officials announced a new development project for a conference center that will replace the parking garage at 200 Madison Street.

Officials said this has been an idea brewing for years in Jefferson City, and the opportunity came up when the city bought the 200 Madison Street block. Mayor Ron Fitzwater called the project, which also includes a hotel, a "game changer."

Fitzwater wanted the location of this conference center to be somewhere in Downtown Jefferson City "and walking distance from the Capitol, walking distance to restaurants and places of interest to our guest that come and we knew we had to do something with this garage."

Luke Holtschneider, of the Jefferson City Regional Economic Partnership, said the budget of this project is yet to be determined. Officials will begin looking for a lead development partner on Wednesday.

Officials hope to find a developer by February and to gather all the architechs and the drawings in a years time.

"We hope to break ground by 2025 and have it opened by the end of 2026," Fitzwater said.

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