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City approves Kiel Opera House redevelopment
(by Kara Krekeler - June 24, 2009)
For years, Kirkwood resident Ed Golterman has dedicated himself to trying to save the Kiel Opera House, which has been vacant since its last concert in 1991.
But these days, Golterman is breathing a sigh of relief. On June 5, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen passed a bill that allows Sports Capital Partners Worldwide, the partnership that owns the St. Louis Blues, to renovate the stately building at 14th and Market streets downtown.
“I feel very much at peace with the world, as if the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders,” Golterman said. “This was almost a full-time job for 11 years.”
Over the years, several redevelopment plans have surfaced for the huge limestone building, including one by the Kiel Center Partners in the early 1990s, a formal proposal from Golterman himself in 1998, a plan proposed by developer Don Breckenridge in 2003 and an earlier idea floated by SCP Chairman Dave Checketts.
None, however, received city approval until this latest proposal. And part of the reason for that is because SCP Worldwide took its plan a step further than its predecessors.
“I’ve seen plans in the past, but none had gone so far as to work out the financing. This one did,” said Seventh Ward Alderman Phyllis Young, whose ward includes the Kiel Opera House.
In the SCP Worldwide plan, the Opera House would see a full interior restoration and upgrade and would once again host touring productions, concerts, conferences and other events.
The project, which is expected to cost more than $70 million, will be paid for through a combination of state and federal tax credits, private financing and tax abatement. The city will provide approximately $29 million toward the development through amusement-tax abatement.
“We will have to give up our entertainment tax on events at the Scottrade Center and provide both Scottrade and the Opera House with real estate-tax abatement for up to the next 25 years,” wrote Mayor Francis Slay on his website, www.mayorslay.com. “I believe that reopening the Opera House would not be possible without this city participation — and I am confident that reopening the Opera House will be worth it.”
Not everyone is as excited about the prospect of the Opera House reopening. Fox Associates, the partnership that owns Grand Center’s Fox Theatre, released a statement noting that while it doesn’t oppose the renovation itself, it does oppose the city’s financial involvement in the plan.
“The city is basically giving them this tax money to take away our business,” the statement reads.
The statement, which was released prior to the Board of Aldermen’s vote, continues to argue that the presence of two St. Louis theaters seeking Broadway shows would likely drive up ticket prices, as the venues would have to compete for the same small number of touring productions.
“With such a limited supply being split [between] two theaters, one or both will be difficult to sustain and at best you would have two weak theaters. At worst, one will close,” the statement reads.
The statement continues to argue that both the initial closure of the Opera House and the closure of the American Theater were caused by a similar situation. The American has since been renovated into the Roberts Orpheum Theater.
Before the Board of Aldermen approved the plan, Fox Associates had floated several ideas that would limit the number of touring productions hosted by the Opera House or require that those shows appearing at the Opera House be booked by Fox Associates. In response, SCP Worldwide plans on limiting the number of touring productions for the first five years.
SCP Worldwide expects to secure private financing by August, Young said, and construction is expected to begin this fall, with a projected completion date of late 2010.
Young said that while she has concerns about any development project securing financing in the current market, she feels “quite hopeful” that SCP Worldwide will meet its deadlines.
“We’ll know by the fall whether or not this is a go,” she said. “This is a long-awaited project. The Kiel is a landmark in the city that people are anxious to see redeveloped.”
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