Keller Auditorium Replacement or Refurbishment | Proposed

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

...continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

Paywall, so what is this "fight" the headline alludes to? I didn't realize there was contention over this, it's just RFP phase. Are there battle lines being drawn between different groups?

[maccoinnich]

Debate Over Future of Keller Auditorium Heats Up as Downtown Developer Goes on Offense
Three competing proposals for the Keller will come in front of the Portland City Council this spring. Sweetening the pot for the winner: clean energy tax dollars.



Keller Auditorium, the 105-year-old arts venue that hosts Broadway shows in downtown Portland, finds itself at the center of an increasingly heated debate over its future, fueled by a downtown real estate mogul who has aggressively lobbied city leaders to support his passion project to redevelop it.

City officials have warned for years that the Keller will collapse—as would many other old buildings that aren’t seismically reinforced—in the event of the “Big One,” the 8.0-magnitude Cascadian subduction zone earthquake that’s expected to hit Oregon within the next 100 years. So city officials last year began exploring how to ensure the Keller wouldn’t collapse. It’s exploring two concepts: renovate the existing Keller or build a new Keller elsewhere in the city.

The city sought proposals in earnest last year. It is currently considering three.

One is a long-standing plan by downtown real estate developer John Russell to renovate the Keller and turn it into a state-of-the-art performance venue. For years Russell has pitched the plan to the city, but the city never committed. (Russell’s downtown holdings include 200 Market, the retail and office tower that stands across Southwest Market Street from the Keller.)

...continues at Willamette Week.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

...continues at Willamette Week.

I was just there last week for a show, such a beautiful building in a centrally located* area. I'm definitely on board with this concept.

*We did have issues the other week finding a decent restaurant within 5 blocks last week, which is a major issue for a night out. We had to eat central eastside with my family then drive in to our show. Absent a steakhouse or pizza. Crazy there isn't more stuff nearby a major concert hall in a downtown area.

[maccoinnich]

Keller Auditorium’s future: Three options, one choice
The 3,000-seat Keller needs replacing. What's the best choice: a new building at PSU, a new hall at a revamped Lloyd Center, or a full-scale renovation where it is now?



Welcome to the University Place Hotel, built in 1969 as a Ramada Inn and now vying to become a cultural savior of sorts for downtown Portland as the potential site of a replacement for Keller Auditorium.

The hotel, purchased by Portland State University in 2004, is located beside an Interstate 405 exit ramp, on Southwest Lincoln Street at downtown Portland’s southern edge. This has never been mistaken for a downtown hot spot, yet University Place can offer room not only for a 3,000-seat auditorium but also for a 150-room boutique hotel, conference space, restaurant and bar, and a flexible outdoor plaza. There’s even a MAX stop right outside.

Visiting the site on an overcast recent day, Leroy E. Bynum, Jr., dean of Portland State University’s College of the Arts, was ready to imagine a sunnier future being built here. “What’s got me really excited is we could do a lot,” Dr. Bynum said. “We can dream big.”

PSU’s University Place Hotel site is one of three finalists that the Portland City Council will consider this spring in determining Keller Auditorium’s fate. Another finalist is the struggling Lloyd Center mall, which means that renovating the circa-1917 Keller (which last happened in 1968) has a one-in-three chance.

...continues at Oregon Artswatch.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

...continues at Oregon Artswatch.

I really think moving a major arts venue "almost" out of downtown, to be adjacent to a major highway and off ramp, without much development potential is a poor choice. These types of venues should be as close to the downtown hub as possible.

Interesting how the Keller backer thinks the prior seismic study was flawed. Will be interesting to see what comes of that.

[uncommon.name]

PSU hopes Schnitzer $10M gift boosts their Keller plan


The recent $10 million donation from Jordan Schnitzer to Portland State University for an art museum comes at the same time PSU is putting together a bid to replace the Keller Auditorium.

There are three options to either replace the Keller Auditorium or renovate it where it stands. University officials hope this donation could tilt things in their favor, even though the Halprin Landscape Conservancy hopes to renovate the Keller at its current location. The third possibility is at the Loyd Center.

Read more at the Portland Tribune...

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by uncommon.name

Read more at the Portland Tribune...

There are so many ads on that site, I can't tell if I'm missing part of the article. What is the connection between the art museum gift and Keller move? On the surface they sounds completely separate.

[AcmeGreg]

Here's to hoping they keep the Keller right where it is, downtown adjacent to its namesake fountain, and work with the StuFish folks to implement their fantastic vision for a wondrously new & improved auditorium!

[PDX2SEA]

Originally Posted by AcmeGreg

Here's to hoping they keep the Keller right where it is, downtown adjacent to its namesake fountain, and work with the StuFish folks to implement their fantastic vision for a wondrously new & improved auditorium!

That is my hope. The Keller is wonderfully located downtown. I hope the park fountain will be gently updated as well. I've seen some amazing performances in both spaces.

[maccoinnich]

Broadway Across America doesn’t endorse any plans to renovate or replace Keller Auditorium



Broadway Across America, the company that brings Broadway productions like “The Lion King” and “Wicked” to Portland, said in a letter Friday that it did not currently endorse any of the three remaining plans to renovate or replace the Keller Auditorium.

Keller Auditorium is owned by the city and operated by Portland’5, which is managed by the Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission and Metro Council. Completed in 1917, it is the largest theatrical auditorium in Oregon and the only Portland theater that can host touring Broadway productions. But it needs seismic updates and other upgrades to continue to work as a performance venue.

“While we are ready and willing to work with any council decision,” wrote Broadway Across America CEO Rich Jaffe, in a letter sent to various groups working on plans to replace or remodel the building, “we feel it necessary to once again voice our concerns about the significant impacts of the proposed nineteen month closure associated with the renovation proposal.”

This is not the first time concerns have been voiced over how the project will impact Broadway Across America.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[urbanlife]

Guessing they aren't fond of any of the locations for replacing the auditorium but also don't want to see renovations happen either....

The more I look at these proposals, the PSU site looks the best because it is still in downtown, and it has a light rail stop right in front of it.

[maccoinnich]

Could a multi-use arts complex at Portland State replace Keller Auditorium?



In 10 years, where will Portlanders go to watch Lin-Manuel Miranda’s latest musical? Will it be Keller Auditorium as it is now? A fully renovated Keller Auditorium? Someplace else entirely? Will there be any Broadway in Portland at all?

If a group representing Portland State University has its way, theatergoers will step off the MAX and file into a new, state-of-the-art multi-theater complex south of downtown. Or maybe they will be coming from the connected boutique hotel.

The City of Portland agrees that something must change with the current Keller Auditorium. Originally built over 100 years ago, it is the largest theatrical auditorium in Oregon and the only Portland theater that can host touring Broadway productions. Even though the original structure was mostly rebuilt in the 1960s, it is in dire need of seismic updates and other renovations.

The city is looking for solutions on multiple fronts. They are exploring the idea of renovating the Keller in one plan, and simultaneously looking at plans to replace the building completely.

...continues at the Oregonian.