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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/19/2008 - RESOLUTION 2008-078 GIVING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL TO ITEM NUMBER: 38 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: August 19, 2008 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Chip Steiner SUBJECT Resolution 2008-078 Giving Preliminary Approval to the Use of City-owned Property as the Site of a Downtown Amphitheater and Directing the City Manager to Work with the Downtown Development Authority, the Beet Street Board of Directors and Larimer County to Develop a Plan for Utilizing Such Site for that Purpose. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution. The DDA Board of Directors voted to recommend to City Council the selection of the Justice Center site for the amphitheater earlier this year. FINANCIAL IMPACT The need to relocate a number of City office facilities that currently occupy the recommended amphitheater site could result in a financial impact to the City. However,City and DDA staffs have discussed this and the intent is for the Authority to cover the costs to relocate the offices. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HOK Venue was selected through the City's purchasing procedure to conduct a site analysis, economic feasibility analysis,and to take the amphitheater through conceptual design. HOK's team included the local offices of EDAW. The team evaluated eight sites within walking distance of the intersection of College and Mountain Avenues. The consultants recommended the southeast quadrant of the Justice Center block as the preferred site. Resolution 2008-078 would give preliminary approval to the site selection and direct staff to further explore the feasibility of using the Justice Center site for that purpose. BACKGROUND At its 2002 retreat,the DDA Board of Directors discussed resurrecting the idea of a performing arts facility downtown. During the discussion it became clear that what the Board had in mind was something more than just a large hall. It was looking for a project that would allow for a large variety of programming with a broad spectrum of appeal. August 19, 2008 -2- Item No. 38 From that discussion the concept of a Mountains States version of the New York based Chautauqua Institute was born and from that idea came Beet Street. The Chautauqua Institute is a learning campus and its programming focuses on culture and the arts,education,recreation,and spirituality. Central to all its activities is a 5,000-seat covered amphitheater. Board members visited Chautauqua in February 2003 and two other groups traveled there the following two summers. The DDA Board's vision for Beet Street has always been that it is primarily an economic engine but of a very different stripe. It envisioned Beet Street to be a cultural program that would directly benefit and grow local arts and cultural activities by bringing audiences from the Front Range and beyond to the to downtown area. The intent was (and is) to make cultural and art programming (both performing and educational) a key economic component within the larger Fort Collins economy including, specifically, the resources of Colorado State University. Beet Street was formally launched three years ago. It now has a full time director and staff. It has mounted a number of successful programs to date, the most recent being the Jazz Festival (in partnership with the Downtown Business Association). Beet Street needs a home, a place where it can tap into the larger regional audience. As with the Chautauqua Institute,an amphitheater can serve this purpose ideally. It will be home to Beet Street but it will be a public facility and open to all other users. It will be informal in design and,literally, accessible from the street. It will accommodate all types of programming, except those requiring the kind of environment specific to performing arts halls. With 4,000 seats, the amphitheater will be able to accommodate programs and events that do not now visit Northern Colorado. However, it will be designed to do programs on a much smaller scale as well. Crossroads Consulting Services has been retained as a subcontractor to HOK Venue to draft the feasibility study for the facility and to help develop a business plan. The study is in draft form and will be completed in a few weeks at which point it will be shared with City Council. The draft concludes that a 4,000 seat facility is on the lower end of the size that should be built. HOK Venue was selected through the City's purchasing procedure to conduct a site analysis, economic feasibility analysis,and to take the amphitheater through conceptual design. HOK's team included the local offices of EDAW. The team evaluated eight sites within walking distance of the intersection of College and Mountain Avenues. The eight sites were: 1. Justice Center block 2. Creamery Block 3. South half of 1st National Bank block 4. Block 23 (Mason and Maple) 5. Chestnut Street (next to Armadillo) 6. Willow South(bounded by Lincoln, Willow, Linden and Jefferson) 7. Willow North (bounded by Linden, Willow,North College, and Jefferson) 8. Field behind Aztlan Community Center. The entire analysis and the preferred site were presented to the Beet Street Board,to the DDA Board and to City Council at its July 22, 2008 work session. August 19, 2008 -3- Item No. 38 The consultants recommended the southeast quadrant of the Justice Center block as the preferred site based upon an evaluation of the following factors: • Urban Design • Transportation • Site Factors • Cost • Timing The Justice Center site scored the highest of all researched sites and the consultant's recommendation concluded it was the best because: 1. Strong urban design relationship to downtown's major intersection 2. High visibility from main intersection 3. Proximity to food, entertainment, retail 4. Compatibility with existing uses 5. Proximity to (future)transit system 6. Proximity to parking 7. Site flexibility 8. Proximity to future performing arts center. The programming element of Beet Street is intended to be married to the local arts and cultural communities. A good example of this was the Life on a Shoestring program that culminated in the production of Nickel and Dimed by OpenStage Theater. Eventually, two, three, and five day programs will attract larger audiences who will stay in Fort Collins to attend the variety of programming produced by Beet Street and local arts and cultural groups as well as dining and shopping in local establishments. Beet Street's ultimate goal is ambitious: to meet or exceed the Chautauqua Institute's average event attendance of 7,000 visitors. By adopting this proposed Resolution,the Council will give preliminary approval to the use of the property as the site for the above described amphitheater and direct the City Manager to continue to work with the DDA and Beet Street Boards, as well as Larimer County, to further explore the feasibility of this proposal and to develop and submit to the City Council a report and recommendation regarding the best mechanism for using the property for that purpose. NEXT STEPS With approval of Resolution 2008-078,the City, DDA, and Beet Street staff will work together to finalize the business plan and return it for Council's consideration. The business plan will address operations,management,and how best to program the facility to maximize its utility. It is extremely important to recognize that while Beet Street will use the amphitheater for most of its programming, the intent is for it to be a community-based facility and available for as diverse a performance schedule and with as broad a variety of programming, as possible. In addition,the City and DDA are addressing noise issues associated with the amphitheater through two initiatives: revisions to the City's noise ordinance to accommodate diverse downtown performances without duly impinging on the adjacent neighborhoods; and conducting a railroad August 19, 2008 -4- Item No. 38 quiet zone analysis to determine ways to minimize the impact of passing trains on events occurring in the amphitheater. Lastly,as design plans are finalized,the City and DDA will have a better understanding of the cost to build the amphitheater. It is currently being designed to be technically advanced, extremely flexible, and to provide one of the best and most intimate audience experiences available in the region. This includes methods for extending the operating season into the early spring and late autumn. However, as with all tax increment-funded projects, the final decision on funding will be determined by City Council. ATTACHMENTS 1. Amphitheater Location Map. 2. Renderings of the amphitheater. ATTACHMENT 1 Amphitheater Location Map LAPORTE AVENUE fir I77 t� If Vi i qp A yN I . I I < tiv o o ❑ I i II I F- � II IIL I , I W Ln i z Cn i I i TIII. li i ' C MOUNTAIN AVENUE ANEW . %k� �;s,?`a'.fr3� :-;.n'-S, F-mot Viz;. . •.. i'ka�bk+t ^#,^'. ..,'. Iwo _ . . , 'q �,iW, Nis ` � �►9 , _ If � . - i � i �` L :� � P I - - 1 - i �- �- s �, T ��' . . . � _ `� RESOLUTION 2008-078 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS GIVING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL TO THE USE OF CITY-OWNED PROPERTY AS THE SITE OF A DOWNTOWN AMPHITHEATER AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO WORK WITH THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, THE BEET STREET BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND LARIMER COUNTY TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOR UTILIZING SUCH SITE FOR THAT PURPOSE WHEREAS, the City of Fort Collins and Larimer County are the owners of certain real property in the city located at the northeast comer of the intersection of Mountain and Mason Streets (the 'Property"); and WHEREAS, since 2002,the Board of Directors of the Downtown Development Authority (the "DDA Board") has been discussing the idea of a downtown performing arts facility and, as a result of that discussion,the Beet Street non-profit corporation("Beet Street")was formed to pursue the development of a programming center similar to the New York based Chautauqua Institute;and WHEREAS, the overall purpose of Beet Street is to develop programming at a downtown facility focused on culture and the arts, education, recreation and spirituality; and WHEREAS, the City Council strongly supports the Beet Street goals and objectives and believes that the development of Beet Street will benefit not only the downtown area but all of the Fort Collins community; and WHEREAS,both Beet Street and the DDA believe that, in order to realize its full potential, Beet Street needs a central performing arts facility in the downtown area that would accommodate various kinds of programming; and WHEREAS,toward that end,it has developed plans for a 4,000 seat amphitheater that would be an integral part of realizing the Chautauqua-like vision for downtown Fort Collins,would provide a permanent home venue for Beet Street and would also be available to the general public as both a "town center" for impromptu gatherings and for independently contracted entertainment; and WHEREAS, in 2007, the City Council appropriated anticipated revenues from DDA tax increment bonds in the amount of$1,300,000 to fund a site selection and feasibility analysis for the amphitheater project; and WHEREAS, through a competitive process, HOK Venue of Kansas City, Missouri was retained to manage the site selection and feasibility analysis and to provide preliminary architectural and engineering design services; and WHEREAS, as part of this process, HOK Venue evaluated eight potential sites for the amphitheater in the downtown area and has recommended the Property as the most viable of those sites, based upon its high visibility and image; its proximity to related dining, retail and entertainment activities; its proximity to public transportation and proposed parking; and its compatibility with other existing land uses in the vicinity; and WHEREAS, the City Council discussed the use of the Property as the site for the proposed amphitheater at its work session on July 22, 2008, and gave direction to bring forward this Resolution authorizing the City Manager to continue to work with the DDA and other affected parties to further explore the use of the Property for that purpose; and WHEREAS, the issues that the City Council believes need to be further addressed include the development of a business plan supporting the proposed size and capacity of the amphitheater; an explanation of the measures that will be undertaken to mitigate noise and any other potentially negative impacts on neighboring properties; a clear delineation of the costs that will be incurred by the parties contributing to the development of the facility;and a long-term ownership and operation plan. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that the City Council hereby gives preliminary approval to the use of the Property as the site for the above described amphitheater and directs the City Manager to continue to work with the DDA and Beet Street Boards, as well as Latimer County, to further explore the feasibility of such proposal and to develop and submit to the City Council a report and recommendation regarding the best mechanism for using the Property for that purpose. Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 19th day of August A.D. 2008. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk