MUSKEGON, Mich. — Community leaders in Muskegon broke ground on a convention center 17 months ago, and construction has now passed the half-way point. The project likely wouldn’t have happened if not for a revised feasibility study done after several new breweries, restaurants, and retail shops opened in the city’s downtown.

The convention center is being built on a vacated portion of 4th Street between Western Avenue and Shoreline Drive.

Once completed, the convention center will offer views of Muskegon Lake’s waterfront, include over 10,000 square feet of breakout and banquet space, and connect to the city’s largest downtown hotel and the Mercy Health Arena.

Community leaders in Muskegon first started talking about the possibility of a convention center in the late 1980s. In 2002, a feasibility study determined there wasn’t sufficient need for a