Renovation of a theater / auditorium in Burlington, Vermont. Conceptual plans call for the renovation of a theater / auditorium.

Per the owner, as of October 11, 2022, the city was not able to move forward with this solicitation. The owner states that they are planning to issue a new request for proposals in October 2022. to identify a potential private partner for the redevelopment of Memorial Auditorium. *The previous solicitation is listed below for reference. --- Memorial Auditorium (“the Auditorium”) is a public auditorium and civic center in the heart of downtown Burlington, built in 1927 to honor World War I veterans. The centerpiece of the Auditorium is a 2,500-seat hall with a proscenium stage that has supported a wide range of performances and community events. The building was closed in 2016 due to structural safety concerns and is currently being considered for renovation. More information about the history of the building and past project updates is available on the City’s website. During the summer and fall of 2018, the City of Burlington (“the City) undertook an extensive community engagement process with stakeholder and community input collected through community workshops, public tours, interviews, and a city-wide survey to understand the community’s interests and goals in the future of Memorial Auditorium (see Attachment C). Top uses identified by the public were musical events programming; arts and crafts programs; and youth-led programs. The result of this process was an adaptive reuse plan for the Auditorium to remain a publicly owned, public assembly space. Incorporating the public’s feedback, the City engaged various architectural design and rehabilitation professionals in the creation of conceptual designs, construction pricing, and financing options (see Attachments A and B). The City’s consultants created a conceptual plan for a venue with an approximate capacity of up to 2,000 seats to host a variety of events, including concerts, trade shows, and banquets. The ground level (the “Annex”) was envisioned as a hub for community events, arts education, and a possible winter home for the farmer’s market and the conceptual design reflects this flexible approach. The City is committed to continued public ownership of the building and, subject to state and voter approval, hopes to bring public financial resources totaling up to $18 million to undertake a substantial renovation of the building. The City hopes to make available opportunities for other private equity investment thereby yielding a total for project financing of between $25-30 million (Attachment A). The City, via lease to a City-controlled single-purpose entity (SPE) to be formed, intends to leverage private investment via syndication of Federal Historic Tax Credits and is open to the use of New Market Tax Credits. The Auditorium is also located in an Opportunity Zone and the City is open to the use of this program for both the renovation and the operations of the facility. The primary source of funding for the project will be a mix of general obligation and tax increment financing bonds. General obligation bonds require approval by 2/3’s of the voters, and thus a proposal aligning with the public’s expressed preferences may have the best chance to meet or exceed this threshold. The City expects to seek Council approval in the first half of 2020 for ballot questions which would hopefully receive voter approval in November 2020 for authorizations to bond for the project. The anticipated construction start date is spring of 2021, subject to the voter and council approvals stated above. The City now wishes to solicit proposals from firms and organizations with the skills, relevant experience and financial capacity necessary to program and operate the entire Auditorium, including the annex level, as a community-serving arts and entertainment venue, and who will be financially responsible for any additional cost of building fit-up specific to the proposed programming of events. The City intends to sign a memorandum of understanding with the selected firm governing the period between selection and execution of a formal sublease agreement with the SPE. *This project is on hold due to the public health crisis. A new timeline has not been established.