Ovation Arts Center opts for Bridge Street locale after eyeing Providence
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Developers of a $210 million retail, office, hotel and restaurant complex in Cummings Research Park have landed another venue: a performing arts center.
Michael Gimenez, artistic director of Ovation Arts of Madison, said Tuesday the planned Ovation Performing Arts Center will go in the World Famous Bridge Street development on Old Madison Pike. The Ovation Arts project was originally planned for the Village of Providence development in west Huntsville.
"It's the same project, just in a different location," Gimenez said.
California-based O&S Holdings, developer of Bridge Street, announced Tuesday that Ovation Arts has selected Bridge Street for its 40,000-square-foot Ovation Performing Arts Center. The complex will include a 780-seat theater and restaurant.
Gary Safady, managing partner of O&S, said the performing arts center will be a "big draw" for Bridge Street, a mixed-use development clustered around an open-air town center.
"It's a great fit," he said. "It goes with the ambiance of project."
Plans call for a 12-story, 200-plus-room Westin Hotel and conference center, a 16-screen movie complex by Regal, hundreds of condominiums and apartments, and several yet-to-be-named restaurants and retail stores that will line a man-made lake. Water taxis are planned to ferry visitors among the venues.
The performing arts building will house local arts organizations including the community chorus, Independent Musical Productions, a dance studio, music school, opera company and art and theater studios, planners say.
Gimenez said plans to locate in Providence simply didn't materialize.
"After that, we negotiated with Bridge Street, we renegotiated with Providence and we negotiated with some downtown developers. The one that materialized was at Bridge Street," he said.
"Their problem was, they just didn't have the funding," said David Slyman, developer of Providence. "They just never came up with the financing. I really don't know what has changed."
Slyman said Providence is in negotiations with several arts-related organizations individually about leasing space.
"We're going to have components" of Ovation Arts, Slyman said. "We have people coming to us constantly to open up venues."
Gimenez said Ovation Arts is not having fundraising problems. Gimenez has said funding would be sought from individuals, corporations and the state. He predicted the project would cost between $3.4 million and $3.8 million, and the center has launched a capital fundraising campaign.
Several fundraising projects were held, including a $75-a-plate, black-tie dinner at the Von Braun Center North Hall, and a "My Funny Valentine" affair at The Ledges Clubhouse hosted by Mayor Loretta Spencer.
The original target date for opening the arts center was September when a new city K-8 school opens in Providence. No new opening date has been set, Gimenez said.
Providence is a pedestrian-oriented community in west Huntsville that offers its own school, specialty shops, restaurants, office space and town meeting hall.
It is designed by the same people who mapped out Seaside, Fla.
Slyman said Providence worked with Ovation Arts about leasing space when the organization was unable to secure a construction loan. The agreement with Bridge Street calls for Ovation Arts to lease the space and build its own building.
Gimenez said the Bridge Street site is approximately 1 1/2 miles from Providence.
"There are no negative comments and I don't expect there will be any," Gimenez said.
Ovation Arts grew out of the Madison Community Chorus. When the plans for a performing arts center at the Village of Providence were first discussed in September 2003, it was described as a 36,000-square-foot building including a theater, and music, dance and art studios intended to serve Huntsville, Madison and Monrovia.
Bridge Street will be on a 100-acre tract on the northwest corner of Research Park Boulevard and Old Madison Pike. Turner Universal is the general contractor.
Site work could begin by the end of this month, Safady said.
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