An unconventional meeting place? Once home to a Bloomington auto dealership, it's taken on a new life as Indiana's newest convention center.

• Author: Marbaugh, David
• Position: Convention Center of Monroe County/Bloomington - Meetings & Convention

Looking for a new car in Bloomington? Well, 302 S. College Ave. is no longer the place to go. But if you're looking for the newest convention center in Indiana, you've found the right spot.

The 69-year-old building has maintained a steady history--until now, that is--in the automobile industry. Formerly the Graham Motor Sales Ford dealership and most recently the Tom O'Daniel Ford building, the facility has changed hands again. It recently was renovated into the Convention Center of Monroe County/Bloomington in a project having roots back in the early 1960s. In addition to creating new jobs, the facility expects the estimated 60,000 annual visitors to spend money downtown and boost area businesses.

Originally proposed by a Bloomington resident at the start of that decade, a downtown convention center has long been sought by community leaders to meet the needs of local organizations for a large gathering facility. But not until early 1980 did the proposal begin to solidify into tangible action.

In 1981, the firm of Economics Research Associates assessed existing facilities and determined a convention center would meet the future needs of the city. Four years later, Peckham Guyton Albers and Viets, a consulting firm, laid out a five-phase program for the economic revitalization of downtown Bloomington, and a convention center was on the agenda. By the end of 1988, the Commission for Bloomington Downtown had pledged full support and promised to take an active role in bringing such a facility to Bloomington.

The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation to increase the Innkeepers Tax from 3 percent to 5 percent in March 1990, and along with a commitment from the Elmore Group the following month to invest $4.5 million to $6.5 million in an adjacent hotel, the project neared its final paper stages. In February 1991, the Monroe County Convention Center Building Corp. agreed to sell $2.4 million in 10-year bonds to finance the renovation, and contractors finally were called in. The architectural firm of Odle, McGuire and Shook, Indianapolis and Bloomington, created the design. Gilliate General Contractors of Indianapolis carried out the actual renovation of the building.

Renovation began in March 1991 and was completed seven months later. Some 30 years and $2.5 million after a downtown convention center was initially proposed, the facility has become reality. Indiana's newest convention center officially opened its doors last Halloween, with...