Work could begin as early as May 2009 on a $90 million renovation and expansion of Boettcher Concert Hall, Jack Finlaw, director of Denver’s Theatres & Arenas Division, said Wednesday.
The comprehensive overhaul of the 29-year-old facility in the Denver Performing Arts Complex got the green light Tuesday, when voters endorsed bond issues 1G and 1H, which between them include $60 million for the project.
Once the city selects a project- management company for the $550 million in capital projects approved Tuesday, a specific project manager will be selected for Boettcher. That person, in conjunction with leaders of Theatres & Arenas and the Colorado Symphony, the building’s main tenant, will undertake a national search, first for an acoustician and then an architect and general contractor.
“I do expect that we will be looking at national (design) firms, not necessarily going with the famous architect like the art museum did, but someone who is accomplished in building symphony halls,” Finlaw said.
Plans call for largely gutting and reconfiguring the hall’s interior and a 35,000-square-foot expansion on the Speer Boulevard side of the building with an enlarged lobby and more space for dining, special events and educational activities.
The project will address the hall’s inferior acoustics, as well as its physical limitations, including a cramped, unattractive lobby and limited, ill-suited backstage spaces.
An immediate priority for the symphony will be raising the $30 million that it pledged in private funding for the renovation and expansion, as well as $25 million for an accompanying orchestral endowment.
Before Tuesday’s vote, the symphony had already received more than $20 million in commitments for the project. It now has to convert those into firm pledges and find additional contributors.
“We can go forward now that we have a real project to talk about and finish the fundraising,” said Doug Adams, the symphony’s president and chief executive.
Finlaw expects the renovation and expansion will take 18 to 24 months, forcing the symphony to find somewhere else to rehearse and perform during that time.
The orchestra is examining two scenarios. One is shifting among a series of venues such as the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Wells Fargo Theatre and East High School. The other is presenting concerts in a temporary Cirque du Soleil-style tent.
“That sounds kind of silly, but those things are used all over the world, including Canada in the deepest of winter,” Adams said.
Finlaw said that the Theatres & Arenas staff who oversaw the construction of the opera house will put their experience to work on this project to avoid some of the problems with that building, including disputes over its accessibility for the handicapped.
A consultant will be hired at the beginning of the Boettcher project to ensure it meets all the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
