Sneak peek at Washington State Convention Center expansion

The Washington State Convention Center’s expansion is being viewed as an opportunity to connect some of Seattle’s “most dense and vibrant neighborhoods.”

Preliminary designs for the expansion were shown during a public meeting May 19, where people got to see one of the project’s design.

LMN Architects describes the expansion as a way to link neighborhoods.

Related: Find out what else is being built.

“This project offers the opportunity to help re-connect these distinctive neighborhoods,” LMN Architects said. “Allowing this new, larger urban-framework of the convention center to be the heart of a unique, welcoming experience for both delegates and local residents.”

The expansion could add approximately 1.2 million square feet of space to the existing convention center, about doubling its size. The site will take up about four blocks between Howell and Pine and Boren and 9th.

Additional space could include about 250,000 square feet of new exhibition space, 120,000 square feet of meeting rooms, and 70,000 square feet in ballroom space.

The proposed site is at the intersection between between Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine corridor, the Denny Triangle, South Lake Union, First Hill and downtown.

Under the current design, the structure will be five stories and about 200 feet tall. There will be two stories below grade.

In addition to all the extra space, the project could add 500-800 more parking stalls. There are two parcels of land across Olive Way that are planned to be used for loading access for trucks.

The expansion will sit right next to I-5. The building will “take advantage of the exposure created by the I-5 canyon and site topography to create a meaningful addition to the Downtown skyline,” according to LMN Architects.

The project will cost an estimated $1.4 billion. Crews are expected to break ground in 2017.

Follow @https://twitter.com/mynorthwest