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The final certificate of occupancy for the Knoxville Convention Center was issued to Clark/Denark, a joint venture between Clark Construction Group, LLC of Tampa and Denark Construction Company of Knoxville, two weeks ahead of schedule.
Richard E. Bigler, Executive Director of Property Development and Project Management with the Public Building Authority of Knox County and the City of Knoxville said, “The Clark/Denark project team has done an outstanding job of working with the owner in coordinating all the issues necessary in order to achieve the certificate of occupancy.”
Designed by Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback-McCarty, Holsaple, McCarty - A Joint Venture, the 500,545-gross-square-foot Knoxville Convention Center mirrors the rolling terrain of the city. The scale of the structure is minimized to blend with smaller buildings nearby. Materials reflect Knoxville’s architectural tradition, relying on a richness of natural texture and color. The site is on the west edge of the city urban core and adjacent to the site of the World’s Fair held in 1982.
The facility consists of a 121,000-gross-square-foot exhibit hall, 30,000-gross-square-foot ballroom, 26,000 gross square feet of meeting space in 14 rooms, 461-seat lecture hall and full banquet kitchen and back-of-house service. Functions are arranged on three levels with the exhibit hall and truck service at the lowest and underground level.
“We’ve opened 16 convention centers in 10 years, and this was the smoothest project ever,” said Bill Overfielt, manager of the Knoxville Convention Center.
Several project milestones were reached ahead of schedule on this job. Last year, the structure topped out almost one month ahead of schedule. In February 2002, the Clark/Denark team was recognized by Victor Ashe, the mayor of Knoxville, for working one million manhours without a lost-time accident. The city of Knoxville stands to save $461,000 in insurance savings.
Clark/Denark A Joint Venture served as construction manager at risk on the job. Clark Construction Group, LLC is headquartered in Bethesda, Md.
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