February 15, 2010

Courtesy of the following:
Stuart Low, D&C Staff writer
Nate Dougherty, Rochester Business Journal
Jeremy Moule, City Newspaper
Rachel Barnhart, WHEC-TV, Channel 10

Stuart Low
D&C Staff Writer

A proposed Broadway theater at Midtown Plaza could jump-start downtownÅs revitalization, developers told the Rochester Broadway Theatre League at a Friday meeting.

In an interview, Christa CEO David Christa estimated the theaterÅs cost at $70 million. Financing would likely depend on state delegatesÅ lobbying, philanthropy and tax credits, he said.

Officials from Christa Companies, LaBella Associates and Morgan Management laid out plans for a 3,000-seat theater on the former McCurdyÅs Building site. The glass, steel and masonry building would anchor an economic hub with new restaurant, retail and residential growth, they said.

The project could be complete by early 2013, said LaBella President Robert Healy. Site demolition would take a year and construction about two years.

RBTLÅs site selection committee will analyze the Midtown planÅs finances and those of two competing sites: Clinton Crossings in Brighton and Lake Ridge Centre in Irondequoit. No timetable has been set for a decision.

Nate Dougherty
Rochester Business Journal

RBTL hears $70 million proposal for complex on Midtown site

A proposed performing arts center on the site of Midtown Plaza would help expand an existing cultural arts district and improve the viability of downtown, city officials and developers told members of the Rochester Broadway Theater LeagueÅs site selection committee Friday.

Representatives from Christa Development Corp. and Morgan Management LLC presented to the committee a proposal for a $70 million complex on the site of Midtown Plaza. The center, facing East Main Street, would include 3,000 seats, underground parking and space for a park that could have an outdoor stage.

City officials made the proposal after a feasibility study found renovations to the Auditorium Theatre needed to meet the ongoing needs of RBTL would be too costly.

Thomas Richards, the city corporation counsel, said the center would require collaboration among the city and county, elected officials and RBTL for funding. The site is being demolished over the next year, and construction of
the arts center would take roughly 24 months, putting the estimated completion date in 2013.

Arnold Rothschild, RBTL chairman, said the project would take a strong level of cooperation, but could dramatically change downtown if accomplished.
In January RBTL narrowed its focus to three site proposals: Midtown, the former Medley Center in Irondequoit and Clinton Crossings in Brighton. RBTL officials said they have not ruled out proposals in Gates, Webster and
Farmington, Ontario County.

(c) 2010 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or e-mail service@rbj.net.


Jeremy Moule, City Newspaper

RBTL: Developer makes pitch for downtown theater


A development group's pitch to build a new Rochester Broadway Theatre League theater at the Midtown site focused on existing infrastructure and the project's fit. This was the second pitch by city officials and developers for the
Midtown site. The site would put the project in the center of the city, county, and region, presenters said. And it would be near a large concentration of other arts facilities, as well as dining, bars, and entertainment. And the site already has an underground access tunnel which could be used to load and unload shows.

Dave Christa of Christa Development says the estimated price tag for the project is $70 million - that includes engineering and architectural work, as well as construction. Christa says the money could be raised through philanthropic and government contributions, as well as through tax
credits - a complicated method for which the development group has brought on Harris Beach's Mike Townsend.

City Corporation Counsel Tom Richards said that it'll have to be a community effort to raise the money and to find a way to bridge any yearly operating deficit.

But Frank Hagelberg, the head of RBTL's site selection committee, says it's the organization's "hope and expectation" that an update to a 2008 operating plan will show that there won't be an operating deficit. The reason: there won't be any common area charges like there would have been in the Renaissance Square plan and the utility costs included in the old plan.


Rachel Barnhart (Email: rbarnhart@13wham.com)
13WHAM.com

Midtown Theater Plan Unveiled, Funding Uncertain

As developers detailed a $70 million theater that would be built on the Midtown Plaza site, city officials sounded a note of caution that they donÅt know how to pay for it - or if the plan has any public support.

Christa Construction, Morgan Management, and LaBella Associates ö firms that are already working on projects at Midtown ö made a presentation before the Rochester Broadway Theatre LeagueÅs site selection committee on Friday.

RBTL is seeking a new home, claiming the Auditorium Centre is too outdated and too costly to renovate.

ãIf you have one of something, it should be downtown,ä said LaBellaÅs president, Robert Healy. ãA new performing arts center for RBTL on this site will fit. It will provide renewed energy and excitement for the downtown area.ä

The team showed images of what the theater would look like. They based the model on a performing arts center recently constructed in Durham, North Carolina. The theater would front Main Street. There would be green space in back that would allow for outdoor performances.

The city plans to have the Midtown site cleared this year, and theater construction would take two years.

Heidi Zimmer-Meyer of the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation said the theater could supplement business at the Riverside Convention Center and complement Monroe Community CollegeÅs plans for a performing arts program downtown.

ãThe ability to a create a new jewel in the crown of the region's largest performing arts district would be huge, and would go a long way toward making people feel wonderful about this community,ä Zimmer-Meyer said.

The developers are waiting for a feasibility study to show demand for a theater and what kind of subsidy it might require. David Christa said his firm may kick in some money, but said heÅs waiting for the feasibility study.

ãI think it really has to be a sound business endeavor, before philanthropy gets involved, and the delegation finds money at the state level,ä Christa said.

ãThe issue remains on how to pay for it,ä said City Corporation Counsel Tom Richards. ãIf the community does not support it, then the kind of investment of public financing that would have to go into this should not happen.ä

ãThere's a moment in time when communities change, and maybe this is a project that will bring everybody together to pull something together of this magnitude.,ä said RBTL Chairman Arnold Rothschild. ãIt's a very exciting concept. It would dramatically change downtown.ä

RBTL is also considering Clinton Crossings in Brighton and LakeRidge Centre (the former Medley Centre) in Irondequoit. Funding plans for those proposals have not been made public.

Although the city has repeatedly said the countyÅs support for a Midtown theater is essential, County Executive Maggie Brooks said she is staying out of the process. She also questioned how this theater proposal is different from the one she supported across the street at Renaissance Square.

by RDDC.org