The First Facility Management Blog

Two years after undergoing a $60 million interior makeover, the New Orleans Morial Convention Center turned its paint brushes to the building’s exterior for a dramatic change. Earlier this year, work crews began applying the first coats of deep blue paint needed to replace the building’s 279,000 square foot brick red stripe.

The Convention Center main entrance

Conceived in 1981, the building’s original exterior color scheme of light beige, brick red, and dark green was based on certain colors particular to the neighborhood, an area crowded with small 19th century warehouses. The palette was designed to make the new, modern building better harmonize with its Old World surroundings.

Over the years, business at the Convention Center helped spur the Warehouse/Arts District’s revitalization, dramatically transforming it to an area flourishing with fine dining establishments, hotels, art galleries, and commercial and residential development.

Today, the red brick color has given way to “Convention Center Blue,” a custom color by Richard’s Industrial Coatings. “The new shade of deep blue appropriately reflects our relationship with one of the most famous bodies of water in the world, the Mississippi River,” said Bob Johnson, the Convention Center’s president and general manager.

The painting crew applied custom color "Convention Center Blue" onto the facility's exterior.

The new color gives the building a more classic look and complements the building’s redesigned interior palette, which is exhibited in 88,000 square yards of carpet and 26,000 new meeting room chairs.

“We’ve gotten incredible feedback from our client base about the new color. It’s amazing how this one cosmetic change can make such a huge difference in our appearance,” said Johnson.

The Convention Center’s 2006 renovation was so well received that more building improvements have been implemented to further enhance the Center’s value to clients. More than $20 million of additional interior and exterior improvements have been completed or are underway, including an aesthetically enhanced main entrance, additional landscaping, new furniture pods, and technology upgrades to debut later in the year.

Read TFM’s January 2008 coverage of the Convention Center’s post-Katrina renovations, “Swift Recovery” here.

This past December, Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), an international association of insurance and financial services professionals from around the world, presented a $3,000 donation to The Children’s Bureau of New Orleans on behalf of the staff of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The donation was a result of the convention center staff’s commitment to providing excellent service during MDRT’s 2005 Annual Meeting at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

More than 9,000 MDRT members from 63 countries attended that 2005 meeting, and MDRT wanted to show its appreciation by offering a gratuity to the convention center staff for their hard work and hospitality. Convention center staff declined the gratuity and asked that a donation be made to a local charity. So, in cooperation with the convention center staff, the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans was selected to receive a monetary gift on behalf of the convention center from MDRT.

The donation was made in mid-December.

The convention center’s staff and MDRT chose the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans because of their long-standing commitment to improving the quality of life for New Orleans children and their families. Founded in 1892 by the Reverend Alfred E. Clay, the agency is a private, non-profit United Way partner offering a variety of services to children and families.

“This donation demonstrates not only the convention center’s commitment to its clients, but also to the community of New Orleans,” said 25-year MDRT member and MDRT second vice president Julian H. Good Jr., CLU, ChFC, of New Orleans. “It took some time to finalize the plans for this donation as Hurricane Katrina hit shortly after our meeting and everyone was in need, so I am glad to see this donation finally come to fruition.”

In January 2008, TFM covered the effect of Hurricane Katrina on the convention center in “Swift Recovery”.

MDRT has hosted four Annual Meetings in New Orleans, and also built a playground in 2005 at Trinity Christian Community Center in Hollygrove as a way to give thanks to the city for hosting them for their Annual Meeting. The MDRT plans to return their Annual Meeting to New Orleans in June, 2015.

Shown in photo (l to r): Keith Levey, director of sales, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center; Bob Johnson, president/general manager, convention center; Paulette Carter, MPH, LCSW, president/CEO, Children’s Bureau of New Orleans; Julian H. Good Jr., CLU, ChFC, MDRT second vice president and 25-year MDRT member from New Orleans; Yvette Genova, event coordinator, Convention Center; Michelle Minyard, sales manager, New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau.