Dave Cossetta could be content with his sprawling Italian deli, market, pasticceria and fine-dining rooftop restaurant on West Seventh Street in St. Paul.

But the restaurateur and entrepreneur has one more project up his sleeve: He will expand the already bustling Cossetta Eventi catering operation by remodeling the big hangar-like building next door that currently houses the company’s catering kitchen.

The building will house an event center that seats nearly 500 people for weddings, banquets and other swank ceremonies. The kitchen will be connected to the center via an enclosed walkway. Parking will be available in the lots between the buildings and in another lot adjacent to the new event center.

“I wanted to do this first,” Cossetta said of the event center, referring to the expansion of the original Cossetta buildings in 2015. “It was a much lower-risk project.”

But circumstances led to the company completing the expansion first, and now it’s time to take on the event center, he said.

The project, which will cost upward of $4 million, will include a main room that seats about 300 people and a back room with an additional 170 seats. There will also be a pre-reception area with a full bar. The company will likely begin construction in the fall with the hopes of being open by next spring.