Please in My Back Yard
While the New World Symphony Project Gains More Support,
Commission Stays Hesitant

“We have more than enough money to do every other fantastic project that comes along. We can fund all of them — bring ’em on.”

New World Symphony supporters packed commission chambers Monday.
Photos: Angie Hargot

By Angie Hargot

A sea of blue shirts, they gathered early in front of the large glass doors of the Miami Beach City Commission chambers on a Monday evening. Many were students holding signs in support. Some were from the administration of the symphony. Some were residents who live across the street from the proposed site. They stood at the balcony overlooking a city-owned parking lot on 17^th Street near Lincoln Road, motioning out to where the new buildings would stand.

They were patiently awaiting their turn to show support for the New World Symphony’s new theater of the performing arts at the most recent community workshop held to introduce the symphony’s potential new home — and its financial woes — to the people of Miami Beach.

White shrink-wrapped yachts filed into the Miami Beach Convention Center staging area below, boat show-bound. The students chattered with each other, and held up signs that read “PIMBY” (Please in My Back Yard) and “If you build it, they will come!”

Those who placed phone calls to the New World Symphony in the days leading up to the workshop were told to attend, and wear a blue shirt in support of the project.

“We hope they approve what we’re asking for in funding so we can build our new campus,” said Roslyn Black, who was there to show support.

But the issues facing the commission are hardly that simple.

“It’s RDA [Redevelopment Agency] funds, but it’s still our public dollars,” Victoria Rogers, executive vice president of the New World Symphony, told the SunPost. “This is probably the sixth public forum and the second that the city’s had. We want the community’s support. We think it’s a great opportunity for the city — not just for us.”

Rogers says the NWS expects to hold future “visioning sessions” — workshops during which the community can attend and express what they envision the park component of the project to be like.

Michael Tilson Thomas, fresh from winning two Grammys the evening before (one for Best Classical Album and a second for Best Orchestral Performance for recent work with the San Francisco Symphony), stood at a very different podium Monday.

Thomas is no stranger to the TOPA building process — this is his fourth such project replacing “what I lovingly call a one-room schoolhouse,” for his symphonies. “We have rehearsals in bathrooms, stairwells and phone booths,” Thomas said of the Lincoln Theater, the symphony’s current home.

As it now stands, the city of Miami Beach will be investing just under $67 million in RDA funds in the project. But a couple of contingencies have the commission hedging on moving forward with a commitment for a good chunk of that. The project has just selected a contractor as a way to hedge some of those bets.

“We bring the contractor on board a little bit early; we’re not through with the design; we don’t have a 100 percent set of construction documents … to avoid cost overruns,” Grant Stevens of Hines Real Estate, the project development manager for the NWS facility, said. “Hines is a company that loves difficult projects.”

The general contracting firm chosen is Facchina-McGaughan, LLC, the company behind the American Airlines Arena and, more recently, the 500 Brickell residential building.

The company was one of the original bidders on the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts project, which has been highly criticized for running severely over budget.

“I understand your concern about, as you put it ‘the other project,’ OK, I was one of the original bidders on ‘the other project.’ After bidding at one time and spending an enormous amount of money to bid that project, I dropped it because I saw where it was leading. This job is 180 degrees on a different course,” responded a representative of Facchina-McGaughan.

Design partner Craig Webb of Gehry Partners, LLC, was on hand to illustrate overhead visuals of the Gehry-designed building, park and garage. “Symphonic music, in order to survive, needs to engage the community in a stronger way,” Webb said. “The body language of this building is intended to reach out into the community.”

Webb illustrated the ways in which this will be accomplished. The outside projection screen and sound system in the park will project the performances going on inside. The stage inside was designed with seating all around rather than just in front, allowing the audience to see the faces of those on the other side of the orchestra, creating a more enveloping experience. One change now up for approval by the commission is a hike in the cost of landscaping the park, bringing that price tag alone up to $21 million. The Finance Committee has already approved that item.

The cost of the parking garage has also shot up. The originally $8 million structure will now cost the city about $15.2 million.

That raised an interesting component of the changes up for approval. Although the park and garage will be owned and operated by the city, cost overruns on their construction were originally negotiated to be the responsibility of the NWS. Another amendment before the commission would make them the city’s responsibility. 

Yet another potential pitfall vexing the city is a fuzzy item that could form a loophole for the NWS to back out of the deal, costing the city money in the process. The NWS agreed to reimburse about $3 million in design fees for the Gehry designs that, if the deal were to fall apart, the city would not have the rights to. Now, if the city were to make “onerous” demands on the NWS use of the garage, or refuse to pony up the $15 million grant-in-aid, the NWS could back out. The commission is also demanding to know what actions would be considered “onerous.”

Commissioner Saul Gross also became increasingly concerned about committing the city’s money when Miami-Dade County has yet to commit its $30 million. According to Howard Frank, chair of New World Symphony’s capital campaign, said the county is indeed on board, and has already passed the commitment for the project to receive the first $3 million this October.

But the commission has become apprehensive about how Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, now a strong mayor, might react to the request, especially with the county tied up in its own funding dance about its contribution to the proposed Marlins ballpark.

“We can’t wait a whole lot longer with the county,” Frank said. “We have to get that money and get it financed.”

“The RDA will generate probably $500 to $600 million in the remaining 16 years of its life cycle. We currently have, what, $80 million in plans contemplated to spend that money?” a frustrated Commissioner Jerry Libbin said as he summed up the sentiment of many in the audience. “The NWS is putting up $150 million. It’s nonsense. This is a fantastic project. We have more than enough money to do every other fantastic project that comes along. We can fund all of them — bring ’em on. We just need to get on with the show.”

To the roar of applause, Michael Tilson Thomas then jumped up to move an oversized poster depicting two toothy little girls in their ballet clothes into the center of the room. It read: “ARTS. HERE. NOW.”

According to City Manager Jorge Gonzalez, however, the RDA funds, consisting of property taxes collected within the City Center redevelopment district, are not exactly a bottomless pit of money. A few projects in particular — the $14 million Collins Park parking structure, and the $12 million to $15 million Bass Museum project — will throw the budget into deficit. The RDA funds filter in, but couldn’t be committed until 2012.

“This is the third renaissance for Miami Beach. The first was Art Deco; the second was Art Basel,” said Nancy Liebman, chair of the CANDO committee and former Miami Beach commissioner. Liebman was reminded of the similar struggle to bring Art Basel to the city. “And look what it has done for us.”

The changes will come before the commission at a future regular commission meeting.

“This is the smallest project Gehry has,” said supporter Mariana Cruz. “And we’ll lose it like we lost Cirque.”  

Comments? E-mail angie@miamisunpost.com.