Conroe to add visitor’s center to City Hall
Conroe has a new director for its Convention and Visitors Bureau, and now the city will get a new visitor’s center with community space.
Conroe Council approved hiring Houstonbased PGAL to provide conceptual plans and design work for the center that will be located on the first floor of Conroe Tower at 300 W. Davis St.
“I really want that to be a synergistic space where people feel comfortable to come in and get information or to come in and bring people who are visiting from out of town so that they’ll get to know Conroe’s stories,” said new CVB Director Sherry Chaney Morgan.
Morgan previously served as the tourism coordinator from 2012-17 for Conroe. Most recently she was the executive director at Visit Nacogdoches in East Texas.
Morgan fills the seat of previous bureau director Shannon Overby, whom the city fired in April.
In January 2022, the council agreed the 14,000 square feet of space needed to be remodeled and more user-friendly for the public. The original plan for the building included the visitor’s center and community room but also a catering kitchen.
With little support from the council, the catering kitchen was removed from the plan.
“For me, city hall is here to conduct city business,” Councilwoman Marsha Porter said during a January 2022 workshop meeting. “I think we are stewards of the taxpayers’ money. I’m not sure taxpayers would be in favor of having dining facilities in city hall.”
Porter said the concept is a “poor” way to spend taxpayer money when the city needs more police and code enforcement officers. She added the city is providing meeting space for the public at the new Oscar Johnson Jr. Community Center.
According to information from the city, the project to renovate the first floor will include the demolition of the existing glass vestibule.
The space will feature a new seating area, doors, reception area, new ceilings and flooring. The plan will also include a community room that will be available for residents to use for events.
The cost and timeline of the project were not available.