Business View Magazine | January 2021

160 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JANUARY 2021 www.usfoods.com WE HELP YOU MAKE IT! screening, including temperature checks and, where practical, seating capacities and room sets have been modified to allow for limited touch and proper physical distancing behaviors. Spinks admits, “The groups we are hosting are smaller. We’re still seeing several of the larger groups cancel. With our fiscal year ending on June 30th, the SCC was on pace in 2020 to have our best year in history. Of course, we did not. It’s still looking really rough. But, in the meantime, other than hosting events, we’re focusing on plans for the expansion. The expansion design is completed and it includes add-ons such as a 57-foot-wide hangar door, additional customizable break-out rooms, additional outdoor space, and a new facility entrance with an all-glass façade. Since the expansion will be where our surface parking lot is today, we included a 900-space parking garage in the plans.” The Center’s existing 25,000-square-foot ballroom looks out onto both the Savannah River and the downtown historic district. With the addition of the new ballroom facing the back river, marshes, and the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort, the SCC will feature sweeping 360-degree views of its gorgeous surroundings. So far, the State of Georgia has funded $93 million for the project. “We’re ready to go,” promises Spinks. “Clark Construction Company, out of Washington, DC, has now submitted their GMP, and the ground breaking will be scheduled early in 2021.” Despite all the construction work ahead to effectively match the existing size of the Center, Spinks believes it’s very likely that the SCC will outgrow the new building sooner rather than later. She notes, “I have a list of around 115 customers who want the expansion. People want to come to Savannah – we’re a destination city. I see businesses booming more and more. We’ve had four or five restaurants open up during COVID-19, and Tybee Island, just outside