BROWARD COUNTY, FL - Hundreds of people gathered at the site of the Broward County Convention Center and new Omni Fort Lauderdale Hotel Wednesday morning to celebrate the "topping out" of the two transformative waterfront construction projects in Fort Lauderdale. The two projects, totaling over $1 billion, are slated to open in 2025 and will be iconic additions to the downtown skyline. 

A "topping out" is a time-honored tradition in the construction industry to recognize the workers who have contributed to achieving the project milestone. Broward County Mayor Nan Rich, Vice Mayor Beam Furr, Commissioners Lamar P. Fisher, Michael Udine, Robert McKinzie, Hazelle Rogers, County Administrator Monica Cepero, members of the Broward County Public Works Department, Finance and Administrative Services Department, and Visit Lauderdale joined the developer Matthews Southwest, design builder Balfour Beatty and more than 400 construction workers in the public celebration, which included a ceremonial signing and dramatic hoisting of the two uppermost steel beams atop the East Expansion Building and the Omni Fort Lauderdale Hotel. 

"This is the beginning of a legacy. These projects stand as a testament to the dedication of those of us here today and to those who came before us. This hotel and convention center will be a source of pride in our community. I believe it is a true example of the power of collaboration as we work together to achieve more," said Broward Mayor Nan Rich.

"The topping-out of the Omni Hotel and Convention Center Expansion is an important milestone in this transformational project in Broward County. This project will bring new opportunities, create thousands of jobs, add to our quality of life, and bring a source of new revenue to enhance the successes of our economic engines at Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Visit Lauderdale and our County as a whole," said Broward County Administrator Monica Cepero. 

The stand-alone East Expansion Building features 400,000 square feet of ballrooms, exhibit space and a kitchen that will service the entire 1.5 million-square-foot convention center. The 29-story, 801-room hotel will offer an additional 120,000 square feet of functional indoor and outdoor space, including ballrooms and meeting rooms, multiple restaurant options, amenity deck, rooftop bar and an array of luxury amenities including a six-acre outdoor plaza with amphitheater, art installations and a spectacular waterfront view. 

The large-scale construction project has required working around the Convention Center's continuous operations as well as working adjacent to two active Broward County port terminals.