SLC Broadway Theater Development Team Selected

10.14.2009 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) The Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency board selected a development team yesterday that will work over the next six months on a plan to build a 2,500 seat Broadway-style theater on Main Street downtown. But Councilwoman Jill Remington-Love said the timing of this decision could draw criticism from the public.

“You know, probably the elephant in the room with the public is that we would be moving forward with something like this during these economic times and what is it going to cost the taxpayer,” Remington-Love says.

She said it’s important for the public to understand that the roughly $500,000, six-month contract will be funded by the Redevelopment Agency, not by the city’s general fund.

The predevelopment process will include an in-depth analysis of the need for a Broadway theater, how many seats it ultimately should have, how it should be operated and potential funding scenarios. Mayor Ralph Becker said it’s an important step toward building the theater, but doesn’t mean it’s a done deal.

“You know, this is a multi-step process. We have a concept that is gaining more form every day and gaining more reality every day with decisions like this to select a developer for the theater,” Becker says. “So this is a big step along the way and we’ll keep working toward a successful conclusion.”

The RDA Board unanimously awarded the contract for the theater project to Garfield Swisher Traub and Hamilton Partners.  It will include the same architects that designed the award-winning downtown Main City Library. The development group also completed a similar theater project in Durham, North Carolina.