In 2019, the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) embarked upon a Capital Improvement Plan of the North-South Building for two Campus Master Plan projects, titled Phase 5A and Phase 5B. The completion of these projects would bring total exhibit space at the OCCC to 2.3 million square feet. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings announced the suspension of the OCCC’s North-South Expansion Project architecture/design contract with Populous + C.T. Hsu, a Joint Venture, in addition to the termination of the CMAR with PCL Construction.
In 2023, the Orange County BCC voted to approve allocating TDT funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the North-South Building. Phase 5A consists of the Convention Way Grand Concourse, which will include an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space and an 80,000-square-foot ballroom, along with a new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way.
Once approved, Phase 5B would bring an additional 200,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space to the building, while also incorporating connectivity between the North and South Concourses. When completed, both phases will provide a grand total of 1.15 million square feet of exhibit space in the North-South Building.