ATLANTA—Cobb Galleria Centre, a mid-size convention venue for trade shows, meetings, and special events in metro Atlanta’s Cobb County, will undergo an expansion and renovation to transform the convention facility. The project is expected to begin in 2025 and be completed in early 2027.
Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority, owner and operator of Cobb Galleria Centre, has selected a team of Cobb County-based firms to manage the design, construction, expansion, and renovation of the facility. Rule Joy Trammell & Rubio (RJTR) has been selected as project architect; Holder Construction will be the construction manager; and Impact Development Management will serve as owner’s representative and project manager. These team members have extensive experience in complex design and construction projects across the Southeast and throughout the country.
“We are grateful to our partners at Cobb County and the incorporated cities who funded the construction of the original facility more than three decades ago with Hotel-Motel Tax (HMT) through legislation passed by the Georgia General Assembly,” says Bob Voyles, vice chairman of Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority and a long-time commercial developer in Atlanta and the Southeast. “This lines right up with our planned expenditure of such funds for these improvements.” He adds, “In my 19 years serving on this Authority, this is the most exciting and consequential project since we built the 2,750-seat Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in 2007. Once completed in early 2027, the rejuvenation and expansion of the convention center will [ensure] our facility remains No. 1 in the state of Georgia and maintains its high national standing for similar-sized facilities.”
The current project master plan scope includes:
- Demolition of Galleria Specialty Shops and second-floor meeting rooms;
- Creating a new, two-story grand entryway, a new junior ballroom to complement the existing John. A Williams ballroom, two unique outdoor event courtyards and gardens with natural lighting penetrating interior conference room spaces, and new connected parking with covered, all-weather access into the expanded facility;
- Addition of 13,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space with enhanced graphics and technology; and
- Extensive renovation and facelift of existing convention space, concourse, rotunda, and ballroom.
Currently, Cobb Galleria Centre features 320,000 square feet of event space, four exhibition halls, 20 meeting rooms, four executive boardrooms, and a grand ballroom. Cobb Galleria Centre had more than 221,000 visitors to 213 events in 2023, resulting in an overall economic impact of $145 million.
