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ollowing a $987 million expansion, McCormick Place Complex, site of this year's National Building Products Exposition & Conference, is now the largest exhibition and meeting facility in North America.

Expanded by 840,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space to bring the total to more than 2.2 million sq. ft., the complex is also home to the National Hardware Show, being held in the North and South buildings.

The complex now offers 170,000 sq. ft. more meeting space and ballrooms, 400,000 sq. ft. of public circulation space, 71,000 sq. ft. of restaurant space,45 new meeting rooms, an indoor commuter railroad station to transport attendees to downtown Chicago in seven minutes, four theaters (including the 4,319-seat Arie Crown Theater) and five banquet rooms.

The major expansion project, currently in its final stages, includes the expansion of the Lakeside Center (new home of the Expo), and the additions of the South Building, Grand Concourse, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and McCormick Square.

Lakeside Center

This year's Expo has moved from its temporary home at Chicago's Navy Pier to the larger Lakeside Center.

In its final stages, the renovation to the Lakeside Center, includes changes to Hall D, the Grand Ballroom and Lobby, Podium and Arie Crown Theater.

A North-South divider will be added to Hall D to allow for two shows to occupy the hall. Also, Halas

Mall (Hall Dl) will be converted inro the Grand Ballroom with full bathroom amenities and food and beverage support space. A new cafe and support service will be added to the Lobby.

The estimated $34 million renovation also calls for improvement to the Arie Crown Theater.

The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

Grand Concourse

After visiting the Expo, attendees can take a short walk across the new Grand Concourse to attend the National Hardware Show, which will feature 3,000 exhibiting companies representing more than 250,000 products.

The Grand Concourse, a 900'-long multi-level, glass-enclosed pedestrian walkway which connects the East Building to the adjacent Norrh and South buildings, also serves as a public access corridor to the lakefront. The Grand Concourse includes a business center, cafes and specialty shops.

South Building

The new South Building with the adjoining Grand Concourse covers 27 acres and took 3-ll2 yean and $675 million to complete.

In addition to the 840,000 sq. ft. exhibition hall that is large enough to hold more than twenty 747 aircraft or l0 baseball fields, the South Building also features 45 meeting rooms, a 22,000-sq. ft. Vista Room, and a 33,500-sq. ft. Grand Ballroom.

The South Building's expansion, completed two months ahead of schedule, nearly doubles McCormick Place's meeting room capabilities: 45 meeting rooms are adjacent to the exhibit floor that can be configured from 1,500 sq. ft. to as large as 10,000 sq. ft. In total, the new building contains more than 155,000 sq. ft. of carpeted meeting rooms and ballrooms.

Hyatt Regency McCormick Place

The complex will house a 32-story Hyatt Regency McCormick Place with 800 guest rooms, restaurant, retail shop, ballroom and health club.