OWENSBORO, Ky. — Some $1.5 billion in new development is transforming downtown Owensboro, and a convention center being built on the city’s riverfront is being cited as the trigger for much of the change.

The $48 million Owensboro Convention Center, managed by Global Spectrum, is scheduled to open in January. Among other developments spurred by the convention center project are two adjacent hotels, also under construction, a 150-room Hampton Inn and Suites and a 120-room Holiday Inn.

The convention center will have 92,994 square feet of flexible space, including a more than 44,000 square-foot exhibition hall and more than 32,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom spaces. The facility will also provide complete in-house services.

The center is on the city’s riverfront, and meeting goers will have access to Smothers Park, which opened last summer. The five-acre park stretches five blocks and has fountains, a playground, concession stands, restrooms and several lawns and a pavilion that can be booked for events.