Javits Center Expansion

The Javits Center expansion is a 1.2 million-square-foot addition to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center along 11th Avenue in Manhattan’s West 30s.

The expansion brought the center to 3.3 million square feet total, and included a glass-enclosed rooftop pavilion and several meeting rooms, the largest of which can host 6,000 people. The expansion was also designed to bring the latest in conventioneering technology, including air filtration, to the Javits.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the completion of the construction of the expansion in May 2021, and the New York Convention Operating Corp., a state entity, took control of it in July. The first event inside the expansion was an exam for Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers. The first trade show or convention was the SALT confab of financial, political, and technology professionals in September.

The expansion cost approximately $1.5 billion, and proceeded through the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, during the pandemic the Javits Center served as a field hospital and then a vaccination hub.