The Appleton Redevelopment Authority Exhibition Center Advisory Committee approved the design for the Fox Cities Exhibition Center Thursday.

The design by Fentress Architects integrates the exhibition center into Jones Park and includes additional programmable space outside the exhibition center with a plaza element. The design also includes a signature element that incorporates the history of the Fox Cities. 

In addition to the exhibition space, a skywalk to connect the facility to the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel along with smaller meeting rooms and other flexible programming space are part of the design.

The exhibition center will be owned by Appleton and managed by the hotel. Construction of the facility will be paid for by a 3 percent hotel room tax rate increase, collected by hotels in the 10 municipalities participating in the project. No property tax dollars are being spent to construct the building.

Municipalities involved in the project are Appleton, Grand Chute, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Little Chute, Menasha, Neenah, village of Sherwood, village of Fox Crossing and town of Neenah.

Appleton has committed to spending $4 million on the project. Two million dollars was spent to purchase the land for the Fox Cities Exhibition Center from Outagamie County. The remaining $2 million will be spent on road reconstruction work on Lawrence Street, Elm Street and West Eighth Street. Those streets border the facility, along with Jones Park and were coming due for reconstruction regardless of whether the exhibition center was built on the site.

A design unveiling for the project has been set for Sept. 13.