Gateway Hotel & Conference Center Unveils Renovated Conference Areas

This spring, Story Construction completed 17,500 SF of renovations to the Gateway Hotel & Conference Center’s conference rooms, corridors and restrooms. The phased renovation effort took place from June 2025 through March of this year, with Story’s team working closely with Gateway staff to accommodate events and conferences throughout the project.

After Story Construction worked previously on the design and remodel of the Gateway’s 187 hotel rooms, the need immediately turned to the conference center portion of the facilities. The conference center frequently hosts events for Iowa State University’s Athletics Department, as well as many local businesses, nonprofit organizations and associations, and wanted to remain competitive by remodeling the space.

Overall, the project involved remodels aimed at more modern, sophisticated finishes throughout all conference spaces, including the Garden, North/Central/South Prairie, North/South Meadow, Harvest, Cardinal & Gold, George Washington Carver, and Ada Hayden conference rooms. These spaces totaled 17,500 SF of space to be remodeled. The facility’s restrooms and main corridor surrounding the conference areas were remodeled as well.

A unique challenge with this project was navigating construction around active events. The Gateway aimed to continue operations throughout the course of construction, so many of the conference rooms were booked at various times. All construction activities had to be coordinated with careful consideration not to disturb booked conference rooms. The project team navigated these challenges with careful consideration and ultimately delivered the project to the satisfaction of Gateway ownership and management.

The most show-stopping feature of this project is the Garden room, the most popular conference room at the Gateway. The new space features a shimmery gold cloud ceiling, complete with contemporary chandeliers and a wall of windows allowing natural light to enter the space. In addition, the cloud ceilings in the main corridor outside the garden and meadow rooms were updated, as well as serving stations and ADA-complaint drinking fountains. The wall mural and carpeting in the main corridor were replaced as well. The bathrooms feature sleek, black countertops and automatic toilets, sinks and towel dispensers.