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Five words summarize an ambitious $76-million expansion of the Ocean Center that will double the size of the complex: on time and on budget. Just two years ago being on time and on budget seemed impossible.

“Back then, construction workers were hard to come by due to sizzling demand, stoked by a red hot market,” said Ocean Center Director Rick Hamilton. “Even when construction crews were intact, construction costs were spiraling daily, causing budgets to escalate well beyond the comfort levels of the Volusia County Council.”

In a strategic move to cut costs and increase efficiency, Volusia County staff took over management of the construction project, assigning day-to-day oversight to its owner representative, OCORP Inc. This has helped keep costs under control, and has protected the contingency fund.

“It was crucial to get a grip on the project if we were to bring it in on budget,” said Volusia County Chair Frank Bruno. He and Hamilton had enlisted community support for a penny increase in the tourist bed tax to fund the expansion project. “We’ve had a few bumps along the way, but have been very pleased with progress on the project, as well as the overseers’ ability to deal with obstacles. The expanded Ocean Center promises to be a crown jewel among the county’s high performing assets.”

County Manager Jim Dinneen recounted the challenges that led to the county changing its method of construction management. “One tactic was to have the county purchase materials directly, which saved us more than $500,000 in sales tax,” he said. “We work very closely with the construction team and our construction management entity, OCORP.”

Dinneen said the vision for the project is alive and well and he expects the community will be very pleased with its new facility, which will not be taking a backseat to any other facility. He added the expanded Ocean Center, Daytona Beach International Airport and the beauty of the county – east and west – are an unbeatable combination.

These observations were offered at the first “hard hat tour” of the project. Dinneen and Hamilton recently led the County Council, members of the Tourist Development Council, the construction team and the news media on a walking tour of the project. The group was told the construction of the south parking lot is complete. The civil site work is about 80 percent complete. Vertical construction of the project is more than 30 percent complete. Renovation of the existing complex, including a facelift, is well into design.

OCORP’s Mike Weigel said he expects all elevated structural concrete and roof deck to be complete in the next few weeks. The same is predicted for most of the framework, plumbing, electrical work, steel structures and some of the glass elements of the project. Nearly half of the contractors on the project are local.

“This is more than an outstanding facility,” said Volusia County Council member Art Giles, whose district includes the Daytona Beach area. “It will serve the community better and it will be a more competitive meeting and convention complex. It’s going to generate positive change here and throughout Volusia County.”

While construction continues and crews race toward the scheduled completion date late next year, the Ocean Center’s marketing efforts are yielding good results.

The first major event booked in the expanded facility is the annual convention of the Florida Fire Chiefs Association. The event is slated for January 2009 with dates also on the books for 2010, 2011 and possibly beyond. The convention is expected to draw more than the 10,000 delegates and 255 exhibiting companies that attend the organization’s event.

Negotiations are under way with many other prospective organizations, according to Hamilton. He cites the Ocean Center’s marketing efforts with generating quality prospective business that will lead to contracted bookings of the complex. In addition to the marketing program, Hamilton recently was named president of the Florida Facility Managers Association. His involvement in FFMA and other trade associations further extends his reach into the industry and its markets.

Expansion of the Ocean Center will elevate the complex to the fifth largest in Florida and the only one across the street from the Atlantic Ocean, making it more competitive for larger events. The expansion project is a $76-million effort that will double its size, increasing its capacity to serve the community and making it more competitive for larger meetings, conventions and exhibitions.