BURLINGTON — Burlington officials are eyeing renovating Memorial Auditorium and hiring a third party to operate it.
While the request for proposals to renovate the space is being finalized, a plan to make Memorial Auditorium an LLC, controlled by the city, and rent out the space to an operator has become a central focus.
Jesse Freedman, a projects and policy specialist for CEDO, and consultant Jeff Glassberg described the city’s idea at Wednesday’s meeting of the City Council’s Parks, Arts and Culture Committee.Â
Freedman said the RFP will be ready in about two weeks, before making it available for six to eight weeks to accept bids.
Memorial Auditorium has sat empty since December 2016 after the building was ruled structurally unsafe, needing significant renovations to make it safe in the long term. The building opened on Main Street in 1928 and has been a centerpiece of the city’s downtown for decades, featuring concerts, sporting events, the winter farmers market and a teen center.
The city went through a planning process for Memorial last year, including seeking input through a survey and community meetings last year.
The city was weighing a handful of options, including a bare-bones renovation to operate the building, a major renovation of the auditorium as a multi-use space and a redevelopment of the full block, including the unoccupied former motel and parking lot.Â
Glassberg detailed how funding plans have changed since his last update for the committee in December 2018. The original plan for the renovation left a wide funding gap of over $17 million needed.
Through a public-private partnership to fund the project, Glassberg’s latest plan significantly reduces this funding gap. Due to the history of Memorial, the space would be eligible for federal and state historic tax credits.
Loans, tax increment financing bonds from redevelopment of the Y, a $15 million general obligation bond and slightly reduced construction costs have brought the funding gap down to just over $3 million.
“We will pursue other grant opportunities when they arise,” Glassburg told councilors. “We could revisit the new markets or even potentially the opportunity zones.”
New market tax credits allow for investors to claim a credit against their federal taxes for supporting a project in an underfunded area.
Councilor Karen Paul raised concerns about the logistics of the third-party operator system. Glassberg responded by saying that an agreement would need to be reached between Memorial Auditorium and the operator to make sure they can pay the bills while increasing the usefulness of the space.
For the operator to be successful, Glassberg said they will need to hold enough events to afford about $450,000 per year in rent. The operator could host concerts and banquets. They could sublet or rent the space for private events, or host larger functions like a winter farmers market.
Glassberg did warn the public will need to support events at the auditorium in order for the plan to be successful. He said $450,000 was a fair rent price for an operator.
Freedman said a proposed operator would be able to see these funding gaps and costs, and said he hopes the operator and city could work collaboratively to provide some upfront funding as another way to close the $3 million gap.
Previous iterations of the renovations had included a “super block” model, where the auditorium combined with the other building and parking lot on the block would all be redeveloped.
Freedman said ongoing redevelopment already underway caused CEDO to take a step back and focus mainly on Memorial. There are a variety of ongoing projects in downtown Burlington, most prominently the stalled CityPlace Burlington redevelopment.
Jeff Nick is a part owner of the Midtown Motel just west of Memorial. Nick felt like renovating the parking at the corner of Main Street and South Winooski Avenue would lead to greater public support for the project. He said it would also increase turnout to events at Memorial, as Glassberg said is necessary.
Freedman advised a “step-wise” approach would increase the flexibility of the project, starting with an operator for Memorial, but said CEDO is “not foreclosing those opportunities.”
Nick reiterated his opinion about increasing parking in the area, saying the corner lot is a prime location for visitors to park in the city while being close to downtown.
Committee Chair Joan Shannon, D-South District, asked how survey results for how Burlingtonians think Memorial should be used is being incorporated into the RFP, to which Freedman said clarifying that language is part of the finalization of the RFP.
The plan will still need the approval of City Council before it is put to the voters for final approval, which CEDO hopes will be on the November 2020 ballot.Â