'New' Gaillard?

In what would be the city of Charleston's most expensive building project, Mayor Joe Riley on Wednesday laid out plans for a $142 million renovation and expansion of the Gaillard Auditorium that could begin in two years and would include new city offices.

"We all know, in our personal and professional lives, that there are opportunities we must seize or they will be lost," Riley said. "This is one of those opportunities."

Riley said that because of the poor economy, the project will cost substantially less than it would have several years ago, and less than it likely would several years from now.

He expects private donations to cover half the cost, and the remaining $71 million would come from existing city revenue sources and new borrowing that would not impact taxes.

Riley said a study concluded that renovating the Gaillard would cost substantially less than replacing it.

The Gaillard has played an important role in the revival of Charleston and Spoleto Festival USA, but it is by most accounts an unattractive building with poor acoustics, and it's been a money pit for the city.

Charleston owns and operates the facility, and the 2010 budget anticipates losing $690,210 on the Gaillard, which would be just the latest in a long string of losses.

Riley and other supporters of the renovation plan believe revenues will increase if the building is improved, by an estimated $500,000 yearly, and city coffers could swell with more tourism-related taxes generated by visitors to the Gaillard.

"This is a piece of the pie that's been missing for many years," event planner Mitchell Crosby told the mayor, following a presentation of the plan at the Gaillard on Wednesday afternoon.

The plan is to turn the 1968 auditorium and exhibition space into a modern facility for the performing arts that could better support Spoleto and institutions such as the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, while improving exhibit space that's rented for large commercial events like trade shows and weddings.

The city would not demolish the Gaillard, but would wrap much of the building in new construction that would remake the Gaillard's appearance and house offices for about 120 city employees.

Those employees now work in rented offices that cost the city about $750,000 a year, and rent savings would help cover the building cost.

"We won't have to spend $750,000 a year leasing offices all over the city, and people won't have to run all over to find them," Councilman James Lewis said. "I've been pushing for this for years. In the long term it will save the city a lot of money."

The lion's share of the project cost, about $96 million, would go toward renovating the Gaillard performance space, a cavernous, 2,730-seat auditorium that would be scaled down to 1,800 seats.

Several tiers of box seats would be added and state-of-the-art acoustic improvements would be made.

Riley said the current building has poor sound quality, far more audience seating than it should have, and an exhibition hall too cramped to be competitive.

"The Gaillard is too big, and too small," he said.

The plan to wrap the George Street side and part of the Anson Street side of the building with new city offices would consolidate some of Charleston's scattered municipal workforce, while creating a new exterior for much of the building.

"As a citizen, I think it's a grand plan," Councilman Mike Seekings said. "As a steward of public funds, I think we'll have to look at the numbers."

Councilman Aubry Alexander said the finances appear to make sense, but he'll have to see what constituents in his suburban district think about borrowing $23 million to improve the Gaillard, rather than for things like new sidewalks in West Ashley.

City Chief Financial Officer Steve Bedard said the city's rent savings would pay off at least a quarter of the money the city anticipates borrowing for the project. The rest of the city's share would come from accommodations taxes, hospitality taxes, a federal tax-credit financing program and an existing tax-increment financing district.

The TIF district would cover at least $30 million, which is the largest portion of the city's share. A TIF district allows a city to designate an area where any growth in property tax revenue will be set aside and dedicated to improvements within that area, which in this case is a large swath of the central downtown.

Of the private financing, $20 million has been pledged by an anonymous donor, Riley said, and that donor picked architect David M. Schwarz to develop preliminary plans.

The Post and Courier in November identified the donor as Martha Rivers Ingram, chairwoman of the Spoleto Festival USA board.

Schwarz designed the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, which Ingram played a role in developing.

The proposed Gaillard improvements pleased members of the arts community Wednesday, including City Councilwoman Kathleen Wilson, principal harpist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, which is the Gaillard's largest tenant.

"I know every inch of this building, having worked in it for 23 years," Wilson said, adding that improvements are sorely needed.

Spoleto Festival USA General Director Nigel Redden, and Julian Wiles, founding director of Charleston Stage, applauded the renovation plan.

"I think this is the most fabulous proposal," Redden said. "It will be enormously exciting."

Residents of the Ansonborough neighborhood were cautiously supportive, and had some concerns about traffic and parking.

"It sounds good and the design is interesting, but we'll have to do our homework," said Pat Jones, president of the neighborhood association.

Going forward, Riley said he's confident that the remaining $51 million needed in private donations can be raised, and he pledged: "We won't begin construction in 2012 without all the money being raised."

Design work, however, would start later this month if City Council gives the go-ahead at a meeting June 15. As with private construction downtown, the city's plan would have to be approved by the Board of Architectural Review.

While some previous city projects have ended up costing far more than anticipated, like the South Carolina Aquarium, Riley said he's "absolutely confident" about the $142 million price tag.