The mayor’s
suggestion of a performing arts center at Midtown is both astounding and entirely expected.
It’s breathtaking because this is the same mayor who helped kill Renaissance Square, skeptical that a theater would ever be funded or built. The mayor admitted the theater fight ended the project. Bob Duffy didn’t want a hole at the corner of Main and Clinton. He didn’t want to condemn properties for a “what-if.” Apparently the same rules don’t apply to the Midtown site.
It’s not surprising because a few key things have happened in a few short months:
• Developers have lined up to build a performing arts center in the suburbs. According to RBTL, some have offered up their own funds. The mayor told me yesterday he’s not worried about the competition, but I bet some of his advisors and council members are getting nervous.
• It’s clear that RBTL owns the Auditorium and the city has no control over the property.
• LeChase Construction says a renovation of the Auditorium is super-expensive. The mayor is waiting for an assessment from Pike Construction, but if Pike’s findings were any different, we would have heard that by now.
• The city couldn’t find another venue or organization to put on shows.
• Developers have shown that the cost of building a new theater is a lot less than first envisioned. Fifty million dollars is a bit more palatable than $100 million. It's still a lot, I know.
• Finally, the city has an open piece of land, one that has been suggested for the theater in the past. Remember Wilmot’s proposal for a casino at Midtown and a theater on the McCurdy’s site? PAETEC and Midtown Tower would take up maybe half of the block. There’s room. There’s a garage. There’s a tunnel with loading dock facilities. The city could use an attraction on the site to attract developers who have so far stayed on the sidelines.
If the mayor is serious about a Midtown theater, he’s got considerable political weight to make it happen. He told me yesterday that he’s not one to look over his shoulder. He wants to move on from the Renaissance Square debacle. It will be interesting to see if others will do the same.
