ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s Municipal Auditorium, at 200 Civic Center Drive, is shown on Feb. 5, 2024. It was closed that month, after an assessment that got underway in January found “critical electrical and structural issues that require immediate attention,†Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin has said.
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä is looking for a firm to assess the concrete facade of the Municipal Auditorium, City Manager Ben Mishoe said Tuesday at the Coliseum & Convention Center Board meeting.
The building has been closed since February over “life and safety concerns.â€
“Once we know what the options are with that, we can plan on moving forward,†Mishoe said.
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s Municipal Auditorium, at 200 Civic Center Drive, is shown on Feb. 5, 2024. It was closed that month, after an assessment that got underway in January found “critical electrical and structural issues that require immediate attention,†Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin has said.
Gazette-Mail file photo
Mishoe referenced the public comments collected this spring that mentioned the facade. He said the city thought it is “worthwhile to make an investment†to receive:
Architectural and engineering assessments
A feasibility study
A cost-benefit analysis
Alternatives on what realistically could be done to save the facade
Patrick Leahy, general manager of the Coliseum & Convention Center, said the biggest question is “[Will] that wall, as constructed from back then, physically maintain itself?†If so, Leahy wants to know if any support structures would be needed for the facade “to maintain itself if you take everything else away from it in order to renovate [the building].†The building was completed in 1939.
Adam Krason, of ZMM Architects and Engineers, has said the facade, which was originally gray, was the most historic part of the structure, and that retaining the facade could be an option.
“Even when I’ve talked to some of the historic experts in the area, they’ll concede the auditorium really isn’t historical. It’s that front facade,†he told the Municipal Auditorium Special Committee in April. “And, for most people, [the history relates to] the events that occurred in there.â€
An estimate from ZMM earlier this year found that either renovating or rebuilding the auditorium would cost $25 million.
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