The National Conference Center, Lansdowne, Va., has completed a $29 million renovation. The property includes 950 upgraded guest accommodations, 250 meeting rooms, test labs, and a conference hall. All guest rooms, including 78 new Executive Club rooms, feature upgraded amenities such as computer data ports, T1 lines, and ergonomic chairs.

The Hayes Mansion Conference Center, San Jose, Calif., is doubling its meeting space and boosting guest room inventory by 50 percent. In November, it will open a three-story wing with 15,000 square feet of new conference space, including a 6,500-square-foot ground-floor ballroom, breakout and general session rooms, and expanded banquet facilities. Meeting and event space will total 33,000 square feet. There will be a total of 214 guest rooms. The property will add a spa.

Harrison Conference Center, the Tarrytown, N.Y.-based conference center division of Hilton Hotels Corp. opened Virginia Crossings Conference Resort in Glen Allen, Va., in August. Located on 20 acres 10 miles from downtown Richmond, the 182-room conference resort features 23,000 square feet of meeting facilities. Videoconferencing equipment and high-speed Internet access are available in all 24 meeting rooms.

Dolce International, the Montvale, N.J.-based company that runs such conference centers as Hamilton Park in Florham, N.J., has acquired Norton Manor Training and Conference Center in Hampshire, England. An expansion will bring the room count to 100 by early this year.

Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort in Stone Mountain, Ga., opened an 87-room expansion in October. The added guest rooms give the Evergreen a total of 336.

In October, the Professional Convention Management Association opened its new PCMA Learning Center in Chicago's Hyatt Regency McCormick Conference Center. The 5,000-square-foot space is being billed as “the most technologically advanced adult learning center in the world.”

Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle added 17,000 square feet of function space last year. A new 5,000-square-foot Grand Concourse combines with the 12,000-square-foot Elliott Hall for activities such as receptions, exhibits, and theme events. Weather permitting, large rolling doors in the Elliott Hall can be opened to reveal sweeping views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains.

The Benchmark Hospitality — managed CIBC Leadership Centre in Toronto, Ontario, has been renamed The Kingbridge Centre.