Bank bids $750,000 to name river venue

2 finalists remain for Robinson Center job

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

— The Riverfest Amphitheatre will get a new roof and a new name, and the Robinson Center is on its way to getting a new look and a new sound.

The Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission approved a memorandum of understanding Tuesday to accept more than $900,000 in contributions and naming rights to replace the amphitheater roof, which was damaged beyond repair in August from strong winds in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. The city of Little Rock will shoulder half of the remaining costs and must approve the agreement before it moves forward.

The commission also narrowed the field of architects vying to renovate the Robinson Center and Robinson Center Music Hall to two finalists who will be invited back to answer questions and give a final presentation next month.

The two finalists for the construction project, estimated to cost between $50 million and $65 million, are Ennead Architects of New York with Polk Stanley Wilcox of Little Rock; and Witsell Evans Rasco of Little Rock with LMN of Seattle.

“The decisions we make today have the potential to be some of the biggest decisions we make for this city,” commission Chairman Philip Tappan said at the start of Tuesday’s meeting. “After the decision on an architect is made, I hope these firms will think of the city of Little Rock and what it means for the city moving forward.”

The agreement to replace the roof on the Riverfest Amphitheatre includes $750,000 from First Security Bank in exchange for naming rights for 20 years, and a $150,000 donation from Riverfest. The bank would also reserve the right to use the amphitheater without rental fees for up to four events per year but would have to pay for security, cleaning and other services for those events.

The commission had already solicited bids to replace the roof. Part of the agreement Tuesday would award the contract to the lowest bidder, Flynco Construction, which bid $960,355 for the roof replacement.

The commission included additional costs for signage, electrical engineering, architectural services and a contingency, which would bring the maximum cost of the project to $1.192 million.If the project reaches that maximum cost, the city and the commission would each pay up to $146,000 of the remaining costs.

Commission staff said the bid included a required completion date of the last Sunday in March because of a contract to use the amphitheater for an Easter sunrise service.

First Security Bank’s contribution will be paid in installments over four years if the agreement is approved by the Little Rock Board of Directors. The schedule would include $200,000 paid before Dec. 31; $200,000 by March 31; $200,000 by March 31, 2014; and $150,000 by March 31, 2015.

Because of the incremental payments, the city and the commission would have to provide about $450,000 — $225,000 each — in upfront capital that would be paid back as the bank pays its donations.

“I think the private-public partnership and investment in this project is exemplary,” Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola said. “The contributions from the Riverfest organization to this facility over the years cannot be overlooked either. We’re certainly appreciative of everything that they’ve done.”

The commission also narrowed the field from four finalists to two in the bid for the architectural design contract to renovate the aging Robinson Center.

The building built in 1939 hasn’t been updated since 1971, and the city is still lacking the estimated $50 million to $65 million needed to complete the project. The commission announced an intention to work with the city for a possible bond-referendum election next fall.

Proposed renovations include reducing the number of seats in the music hall from 2,609 to between 1,800 and 2,300 seats to create a more intimate feel for performances.

The plans would also move the balcony seats and the rear orchestra level, while allowing the symphony to extend into the area where the audience is now seated.

Other changes include increasing the stage space, reducing the office space by about 3,000 square feet, retrofitting the building for earthquake standards and downsizing the exhibition hall from nearly 15,000 square feet to 6,400 square feet.

A final design for the renovations won’t be approved until after an architect is chosen, but features such as revamped meeting rooms, a larger lobby, a restaurant, bar and pedestrian walkways were mentioned during the finalists’ presentations in November.

The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau received 13 proposals for the renovation and chose four firms to make presentations of their ideas. Two of those firms — Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson of Little Rock partnered with Studio RED of Houston; and Martinez and Johnson of Washington, D.C., partnered with Roark Perkins Perry Yelvington of Little Rock — were eliminated from the running Tuesday.

Wittenberg, Delony & Davidson designed the original building in the 1930s and won the contract to design the addition in the 1970s.

Five of the six commission members chose Polk Stanley Wilcox and Witsell Evans Rasco as their top two firms in a quick vote Tuesday.

Commission staff will send several questions to the firms for a follow-up presentation, including how they would help in their role in the campaign for the proposed bond funding, how they would keep costs to a minimum, and their vision for the larger Markham Street corridor.

“To tear down the historic building would have been a horrendous decision, and I’m glad we were able to squelch that idea,” Stodola said. “But there is a pragmatism in the fact that we have limited dollars on this project. People can dream and dream and dream with visions of grandeur, but when we start to put pencil to paper in terms of what we can afford ... I’m fearful of that.”

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/19/2012