DEPARTMENT: Center City Development and Operations Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: John Jacks, Interim
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 1
SUBJECT:
Alameda Theater Briefing
SUMMARY:
The City of San Antonio and Bexar County have worked with Texas Public Radio (TPR) and La Familia Cortez on a concept that would relocate TPR’s Headquarters to the back stage of the Alameda Theater and restore and reopen the historic Theater as a multi-media live performing arts and film center featuring the American Latino-Multicultural Story.
City staff will provide a briefing to City Council on the proposed project and next steps.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
For the past 2 years, the City of San Antonio and Bexar County have worked with Texas Public Radio (TPR) and La Familia Cortez on a concept that would relocate TPR’s Headquarters to the newly constructed back stage of the Alameda Theater and restore and reopen the Theater as a multi-media live performing arts and film center featuring the American Latino-Multicultural Story. The City, County, and La Familia Cortez retained Michael Kaiser with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management to perform an assessment of the concept and make a recommendation.
Michael Kaiser oversees the DeVos Institute's training and consulting programs, both in the United States and around the world. Mr. Kaiser was President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., from January 2001 through August 2014. During his tenure, he expanded the educational and artistic programming for the United States’ center for the performing arts, oversaw a major renovation effort of most of the Center’s theaters, and led the nation in arts management training. In 2001, Mr. Kaiser created the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute, renamed the DeVos Institute of Arts Management in May 2010.
Based on his interviews and an assessment of San Antonio’s arts and culture venues, Mr. Kaiser recommended a revised concept that provides an opportunity to expand the programming and the functionality of the Theater and leverages the new technology and media opportunities with TPR. Highlights of his recommendation include:
• The Alameda Theater will be restored and reopened as a performing arts facility.
• The Alameda Theater capacity should be between 1,000-1,500 and the floor shall be tiered in order to accommodate theater seats or events tables and chairs.
• The Alameda Theater should include a thrust stage into the audience to create a more intimate setting for performances and events.
• TPR would relocate their headquarters to the newly constructed backstage area and construct a new black box theater within the facility.
• A new entity would be created to operate and program the Alameda Theater.
• The programming would be diverse and include Latino focused arts and culture and other collaborative programming with local arts organizations and community organizations. However, additional community dialogue is necessary before finalizing a programming plan.
• The operation of the Alameda Theater entity will be dependent upon contributed revenue. The initial years will require both the City and County to contribute to the Theater’s operation but the contribution will decrease over time.
Mr. Kaiser’s recommendations were well received by the funding partners. In January, the City, County, TPR, and La Familia Cortez engaged Killis Almond Architect’s to develop a design concept for the historic theater and backstage facility. The design concept delineates the property that will be controlled by each entity through a lease agreement. This information will be used to develop a project budget and master lease and funding agreement with the appropriate parties.
ISSUE:
The City of San Antonio and Bexar County have worked with Texas Public Radio (TPR) and La Familia Cortez on a concept that would relocate TPR’s Headquarters to the newly constructed back stage of the Alameda Theater and restore and reopen the historic Theater as a multi-media live performing arts and film center featuring the American Latino-Multicultural Story. The partners retained the Devos Institute and Killis Almond Architects to develop a management structure and design concept for the facility. City staff will brief City Council on the management structure and design concept and will initiate additional stakeholder input prior to returning to City Council with the master lease and funding agreement.
ALTERNATIVES:
This is a briefing for informational purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only. However, funding for the restoration of the theater and construction of the backstage area will come from the Houston Street Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone and private fundraising.
RECOMMENDATION:
This is a briefing for informational purposes only.