Business View Magazine May 2023

123 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 5 GLASS CI T Y CENTER You could do a video game convention in here very easily because we have the bandwidth that we didn’t have in the past. It’s really become a brand-new facility and that’s really exciting. “We have everything now that can accommodate pretty much any event that wants to come into our facility and I think that’s something Toledo didn’t have for quite some time. Now that we have that type of thing, I think you’re going to see more types of events actually coming to our facility.” Sustainable measures have also been put into place, including a full recycling program, locally- sourced food for catering, and a large reduction in the use of Styrofoam, paper, and plastics. “We have really tried to use our China, glassware, and silverware so that we can just wash it and reuse it,” Miller says. “We really take the sustainability thing very seriously.” The new convention center can host events large to small, with 26 meeting rooms that can accommodate groups as small as 20, all the way up to the use of the full 75,000 square- foot exhibit hall that can host up to 6000. “It’s really turned our facility into a truly multipurpose space,” Miller says. “If it’s a big convention they can use the entire convention center and if it’s a small one, maybe we have two or three of them going at the same time. That’s what’s unique about our facility.” Construction took place largely during the pandemic, so that meant the center faced the supply issues that plagued many during that time. But thanks to the work of dedicated construction partners, Miller says they were able to get the site finished close to schedule. Miller cites the hard work of their main architects The Collaborative, as well as general contractor The Lathrop Company, concrete business AA Boos, Westfield Electric, technology companies CTI and New Era Technologies, and glazers Toledo Mirror and Glass, for the speed at which construction was completed. Bailee Lane