“This is a prime piece of property in the city of Miami Beach. It deserves a world-class architect, but that world-class architect comes at a cost,” Frank continued. “That’s part of the reason [for the price increase]. You can’t even get Frank Gehry to do projects anymore, and he does it because of his strong relationship with Michael Tilson Thomas.”

As it stands now, the $15 million grant will be paid at the rate of $1 million per year for 15 years. But according to Frank, at current and projected interest rates, it really means New World Symphony can only borrow on the amount of about $8 million, because they’ll have to pay the interest.

A Nov. 30 “proposed first addendum” memo from City Manager Jorge Gonzalez states that in total, “the city already anticipates contributing more than $70 million towards and in support of the New World Symphony project.”

The money is coming out of millions the city keeps in reserve, known as the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) funds. “The ultimate source should the committee choose [to fund the project] is the RDA funds,” Gross told the SunPost. “RDA property produces more money than we spend.”

The RDA funds are essentially collected property taxes that must be reinvested into the area of the City Center. Other projects often dip into that fund — a prominent one in recent years was the city’s purchase of the $4.5 million Miami City Ballet building.

The city has already spent a little more than $70,000 with Gehry Partners, LLP, Donnell Consultants, Inc. and other companies for the New World Symphony project’s preliminary expenditures, city documents show.

Gross explained that the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee recently recommended “since the scope of the city investment in the project was increasing substantially, that there be a workshop to bring the public into the picture and explain what’s happening.”

At press time, the City Clerk’s office had tentatively set the date of that workshop as Jan.11.

Another issue related to the project surrounds the millions of dollars the city is about to commit for Gehry’s designs — there was nothing on the books to say that if the New World Symphony backed out of the deal at any point, the city would have any right to the completed drawings. The city needed a guarantee, Gross said.

“We’re willing to provide this guarantee; I think it’s a bit nutty,” Frank said. “It’s just gotta be conditioned on us getting a couple of things in place which included funding from the city, and funding from Dade County.”

New World Symphony also expects to obtain $30 million from Miami-Dade County in support of the project.

Miami Beach officials were particularly nervous over the prospect of paying for the design of an urban park created by Gehry that they can’t build if NWS backs out. (The park is slated to be located within the boundaries of Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington Avenue, Lincoln Lane and 17th Street.)

Frank tried to use such fears to his advantage, giving an ultimatum that they can promise to receive the plans for the park (“a right of assignment”) in exchange for the $15 million.

“The guarantee that the city is asking for is subject to our receiving the Grant-in-Aid [$15 million] from the city,” explained Frank saying the deal put NWS “on the hook.”

“You’re using the park as leverage,” Mayor David Dermer accused Frank.

With Frank’s insistence that the city would get the Gehry plans for the park if NWS backs out of its deal in place, the commission can commit the money for moving forward with the design of the garage and the park. The rest gets hashed out, in part, at the January workshop. The item will still move forward as scheduled for second reading at the commission’s Feb. 14 meeting.

Public ire over the city’s recent dance with Cirque du Soleil in its bid to take control of the Jackie Gleason Theater also weighs heavily on city commissioners’ minds. That deal ended abruptly for the city in mid-October after Cirque made a surprise announcement that it was pulling out of the race just hours before the City Commission was scheduled to entertain other proposals for the theater. (The city awarded control of the Jackie Gleason to live entertainment company Live Nation.)

Michael Góngora, the newly elected commissioner still cutting his teeth on the dais, agreed that a New World Symphony project workshop was necessary. “Obviously the commission is just coming off of the whole Jackie Gleason matter, that the public didn’t feel they had sufficient time to give their input to the commission. I would like a little extra time to consider it.”

Frank also insists Gehry is on schedule with the designs and should have them completed by June 1, 2007. The project expects to seek construction bids during a 60-day bid process, and Frank claims to already have selected a general contractor. “If all things go well, we should be able to break ground by August or September,” Frank said.

“Everything about this building has been program-driven and developed to an extraordinary level, perhaps more than any level that Frank [Gehry] has ever built, and he wants to build this building,” said New World Symphony founder and Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas.

Comments? E-mail angie@miamisunpost.com.