After the 2010 demise of Renaissance Square (a
three-component project involving construction of a Monroe Community College
Downtown Campus, a new state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center (to be run by the
Rochester Broadway Theatre League) and a centrally located RGRTA Bus
Terminal at the corner of Main Street and Clinton Avenue in Rochester, NY), the
Rochester Broadway Theatre League sought out proposals from suburban and city
developers in the area for the Phoenix Project, a new location and Performing
Arts Center for the Rochester Broadway Theatre League.
The proposals were to meet the geographical and design needs
of a new, state-of-the-art, 3,000 seat Performing Arts Center with modern
performer and patron amenities including heat and central air regulation,
handicap accessibility, parking, load-in/load-out areas, retail growth space
and other upgrades, as well as a funding plan.
Headed by Frank Hagelberg (Boylan Brown), the Site
Selection Committee narrowed the 14 proposals in the spring of 2010 and
selected the most economically logical location in the heart of downtown - the
former Midtown Plaza on Main Street. RBTL received the assurances needed
from the City of Rochester and announced a plan to move into a "quiet
fundraising stage" of the project throughout 2010.
Why does Rochester need a new
Performing Arts Center? A new
Performing Arts
Center located at the core of
the urban center will create
175+ nights per year of high-quality
entertainment that will bring
thousands of Rochestarians and tourists downtown in the evening hours. This presence will fill local restaurants and
hotel rooms and support retail
development. A new Performing Arts Center will create jobs,
stimulate the tax base, stimulate the local economy, expand the number of
entertainment acts able to perform in Rochester, provide both patrons and performers
with modern amenities offering improved patron services,
Until a new Performing Arts Center is built, RBTL will
continue to operate the Auditorium Theatre, presenting the best
in touring entertainment and arts-education programs for
local students. For the time being, the
Auditorium is a workable venue, but in the very near future, serious
renovations will be needed, and a new performing arts center is the only way to
ensure that top quality entertainment will continue to be presented in
Rochester.
RBTL will continue to move forward with
the Phoenix Project throughout 2011.