Governor David A. Paterson yesterday announced that the board of directors of the Empire State Development Corporation has approved a new, $463 million, "general project plan" for the renovation and expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center as recently reported by Tom Tompousis in The New York Post.

The announcement contained more details and said that a 100,000-square-foot expansion will contain 40,000 net square feet of exhibition space and include "patron and exhibitor amenities" and that the development corporation "estimates the project will create approximately 9,000 construction and construction-related jobs."

In the announcement, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that "the renovation will effectively address the Javits Center's critical repair needs, and the modest expansion is at least a first step toward meeting the continuing demand for additional convention space," adding that "it must be followed by a long-term plan to enhance New York City's convention business."

The renovations will "include a full roof replacement with a 'green' roof, replacement of the exterior curtain wall to create a translucent facade for the 'Crystal Palace,' installation of high-efficiency rooftop mechanical units, and repairs and upgrading of building systems. The renovations are subject to the approval of the New York State Public Authority Control Board after which construction could begin immediately.

The announcement indicated that the expansion is expected to be completed in 2010 and the renovation in 2013. The project is funded with proceeds from the Hotel Unit Fee-Secure Revenue bonds issued by the development corporation in 2005. That issue is supported by a $1.50 hotel tax for 40 years.

The Javits Convention Center on the West Side is currently the 18th largest convention center in the country. The expansion will take place on the block bounded by 39th and 40th Streets and 11th and 12th Avenues as shown in the rendering accompanying this article and it apparently will not relate to the context of the existing space-frame technology of the center.

The center opened in 1986 as a replacement for the Coliseum Convention Center that was eventually replaced by the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. In July, 2006, the city's convention center development corporation and the state's development corporation adopted a "general project plan" for the expansion and renovation of the center that would have created a 1.335 million square foot expansion, including 340,000 square feet of new exhibit space, 180,000 square feet of new meeting room space, and 815,000 square feet of additional pre-function and back-of-house space at an estimated cost of $1,684,000,000.

In December, the design team completed the schematic design for the project, which was found to be over budget and it was soon criticized for "having too little saleable space and for being operationally inefficient," according to the 13-page report that accompanied the announcement.

The report found that "the existing roof has failed" and "the metal deck is corroded" and there has been "extensive water infiltration." In addition "systemic failure of the curtain wall is causing extensive water infiltration resulting in corrosion of the structural mullion system and the interior structure space frame" and "horizon skylights must be replaced...as a result of excessive snow loads."

The dark glass facades of the sprawling center, which offers no views of the Hudson River, were widely hailed when it opened in 1986 for the "crystal palace" environment they created designed by I. M. Pei's architectural firm within its gargantuan halls facing midtown.

The planned expansion disclosed in 2006 by Richard Rogers put a new facade on its east frontage, but the project was halted when former governor Eliot Spitzer took office in 2007, when it was determined that project costs had risen to about $3 billion.