The Board of Finance last week approved a further—and, officials say, final—approximately $284,000 for the widely anticipated restoration of the movie theater downtown.
The appointed body voted 8-0 during a March 27 special meeting in favor of the Playhouse project funding, which includes a special appropriation of about $164,000 (there’s also a separate “project increase” of approximately $120,000).
The special appropriation is to be used for additional plumbing for the concession, plating room and bars as well as Health Code compliance (about $59,000), more design fees for a local architectural firm ($78,000), finishes for staircases and landings ($11,000) and a ductless AC unit for an AV room ($16,000), according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann.
With respect to the Health Code, Mann said municipal officials “feel the town should be responsible for in this regard, given the fact that we have a tenant coming in but we want to make sure our building is up to Code for every requirement, regardless of who we have as a tenant.”
Regarding the floor finishes, Mann said that the town had assumed the new private operator of the Playhouse, CinemaLab, “would be responsible also for the finishes on the staircases to and from.”
“And then as it shook out, through the project, we learned that they didn’t carry that number in their contract and considered that the two staircases were a means of egress and would be the leaseholder’s responsibility,” Mann said during the meeting, held in a Town Hall conference room and via videoconference.
Board of Finance Chair Todd Lavieri, Secretary Chris Le Bris and members Michael Chen, Colm Dobbyn, Nick Mitrakis, Tom Schulte, Maria Weingarten and James Yao voted in favor. Members Bob Hamill, Victor Alvarez and Jan Schaefer were absent.
The Town Council is scheduled to vote on the appropriation on Tuesday.
The money will come from the town’s General Fund though it’s unclear whether it will be bonded.
First Selectman Dionna Carlson, an ex officio member of the Board, said, “There is a huge desire to finish this project. The community wants it done and I think we ‘ve asked a lot of them over the past couple of years. And I think we need to get this behind us and move forward.”
Finance board members asked whether the additional dollars have resulted in changes to the town’s contract with CinemaLab (no), whether the $163,695.60 would need to be spent regardless of the tenant (yes) and whether a different tenant would ask to re-modify the space (no).
Mitrakis asked how confident the town was that the appropriation is the municipality’s final spend on the project.
Carlson said, “Every conversation I have had with CinemaLab is that this is it. They need to look at this as a gift horse and there’s no more. I have said that about as plainly as I can. I have said I will not go back again.”
Closed at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and available to a new tenant since later that year, when Bow Tie Cinemas terminated its lease, the Playhouse is now expected to open in the latter half of June, officials say.
Originally estimated at about $4 million, the long-awaited project at the Playhouse came in at nearly double that figure last year, and is finishing at about $8.6 million. Of that, CinemaLab is contributing about $2 million, and of the town’s remaining portion, a state grant is expected to cover $2 million, while some $750,000 had been sitting in a fund generated by rental revenue at the movie theater under its former tenant, and the town allocated $600,000 in federal ARPA funds. Of the approximately $3,250,000 remaining that the town is spending, Le Bris said, “God, that’s an expensive project, guys.”
Dobbyn said, “I think we are this close to the end so we don’t really have a choice—it seems to me, we have to [vote in favor]. But I think as a town we have to learn from this experience. This started even before I was on the Board but it was an incremental increase, unknown things happened and all of that. But I think for any significant projects, hopefully this is a learning experience and we do things differently next time around and not have overruns like this. I’m talking to everybody. It’s not blame directed to anybody in particular, but we don’t want to see this thing happen ever again.”
Lavieri said in response, “Fair enough.”
Nothing mentioned explains why the overruns happened. What went wrong in the planning? Big projects get done by the town all the time without costing double. 10% overage is often expected but this looks like mismanagement and someone should be held accountable because at the end of the day, we, the taxpayers are funding it. New Canaan taxes are high enough already and there are many programs that could have really benefited from some of those funds.
We all wanted the theatre but I doubt it would have happened if we told it was going to be 8M. Transparency in government never gets old and we were certainly owed that much.
Thanks, Larry. We’ve included a link to a prior story re the specifics of budgeting for the Playhouse renovation. Also noting here that this project, and the “design-build” model chosen specifically and regrettably for it—the hiring of this specific local architectural firm as well as a builder whose work has already been costly in ADA violation citations—was developed under the immediate prior first selectman, for whom transparency was not a strong suit. (I believe that the most effective way to repair a legacy of dishonesty is by telling the truth, though I’m guessing at this point we will not see that from him or his former minions, who must be rather embarrassed by now.)
So how does a town with a project of this cost and magnitude allow for no bid work to proceed (it’s on time and materials). How do we now spend another $78,000 on architectural plans that should have long been completed. What was the total cost for architectural services for this project? Additionally, the Two Million dollar state grant must has specific terms on usage of the money and usually requires specfic guidelines for expenditures. State money usually means public bids and prevailing wages.
I don’t know how a state grant gets allocated or what the status of this one is. The town definitely appears to be counting it against the $8.5 million. I’ll ask about it.
Since taxpayers are footing a large portion of the renovation costs, hopefully the town will have a say in what the planned monthly membership rates will be.
Last winter Luke Parker Bowles was at a community event talking about the Playhouse Theater. I raised my hand and I inquired about the membership rates. Rather than answer the question directly, he replied that membership information on their website.
However, I could not locate the website.
Laura Budd, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce immediately forwarded the link to me. Below is the link with membership information:
https://www.cinemalab.com/bravo-application/
Annual membership is: $3,600 per year.
As General McAuliffe would say “NUTS!”. Dare I even ask what the regular admission price for adults or kids is going to be for people who are not members, but appear to have partially contributed via their taxes a rather substantial sum of cash and waited 4 years for the place to (re)open?
So in year one it looks like it will cost New Canaan taxpayers $5200 dollars for
the privilege of being able to attend their local “community theater” A $1500 non refundable registration fee and $3600 annual membership fee. This seems more a private club than a local movie house…. with New Canaan taxpayers footing the bill.
Why is the Town subsidizing a private club?
So it will be for privileged people only ? Town is building a private club from tax payers money ? Seriously? The will ask a membership to walk in and watch a movie? Are they going to serve lobsters/ champagne on silver trays with every show ?
You (and others) are making a lot of assumptions here.
The taxpayers are funding the sorely needed renovation of The Playhouse, a town-owned building. The community has expressed very clearly, for years, that it wants that building to serve as a movie theater. Town volunteers and staff worked hard after Bow Tie left at the start of the pandemic to identify a successor movie operator.
The model that’s been proposed here is similar to what’s worked elsewhere—in the case of the Avon Theatre in Stamford, for example, it’s worked well for many years. The general public will be able to see movies at the Playhouse. There also could be special events, such as talks with directors or private uses of new spaces within the Playhouse—whatever, who cares, not me—for which “members” will enjoy the benefit of access, swag, priority and discounted rates, given the fees they pay to generously support this important community enterprise. I think New Canaan is lucky to have a proven partner in CinemaLab.
It’s a successful business model in our blessedly capitalist nation, not a tag line for factually inaccurate conspiracy theories. The people who are signing up to become members are engaged in an act of generosity—as opposed to, say, certain members of the Town Council who this evening demonstrated that they undervalue the New Canaan Public Schools and New Canaan Library, “I love the library” set pieces notwithstanding—not snobbery as you seem to suggest. (On that note I would think Sauvignon blanc or even gin-and-tonic pairs better with lobster.)
The fact-based critical discussion regarding the Playhouse project falls on the town, not on CinemaLab. CinemaLab came in to breathe long-lasting life into the movie theater. The town selected the architects and builders. The town publicized a budget before understanding the building’s problems and expensive needs. The town discovered (I take it) after-the-fact that un-permitted work had been done at the Playhouse for years, maybe decades. It unfolded under the former first selectman. Still I think it’s deeply disingenuous for anyone in town government or anywhere else to take aim at an unsuspecting partner that has weathered more than its share of headaches since the cost of this thing skyrocketed. I also think those concerns will fall away once the renovated and restored Playhouse reopens.
Thank you for submitting your comment, and please check your email, where I responded to other things you appear to have imagined.
Perhaps wrong assumptions are being made because the process from the start has been less than transparent. We can only make judgement on what’s been reported… mostly by The New Canaanite. This seems like a good juncture for The New Canaanite to seek an interview with the leadership of CinemaLab so they can spell out exactly what the plan is. Since the town is a major investor I would hope that they will have a say in insuring that the plan is fair and equitable. On a daily basis how many tickets will be available to the general public verses members? What will be the cost per ticket? As a sidebar Michael I would agree with your suggested pairing of Sauvignon Blanc with lobster. Preferably from New Zealand Marlboro region.
Good suggestions Rick. Working on setting up an interview with CinemaLab. We’ll ask them to spell it out.
Good idea – the Avon in Stamford appears to be a non-profit with viewer support and ticket sales. The New Canaan movie theatre now appears to be a for profit tenant operation with a private aspect – the club -and a public aspect – the theatre -. That tenant has a public landlord who has made investments to get the building back up to snuff and the tenant is making tenant improvements. The question then is public access and price for that access (I.e. seeing a movie in town which most everyone would like and the reason for public investment in the first place.)
Spot on, Mike. These residents can’t possibly recoup $3,600 in value every year from their respective membership experiences. They’re effectively giving this money away so that we all can still have a theater in town. And, downstream from that, they’re keeping our collective property values on solid footing.
These people should be recognized, thanked and applauded for their generosity.
You’ve opened my eyes Phil. I had not viewed this through the benevolent lens. They should re-brand the name from “membership” to “Patron of NC
Community Theater”.
So how does the town of New Canaan allow Carlthbart’s firm, Architectural Preservation Studio. to have a no bid base contract for services for $430,000.00 dollars and from the articule above add another $78,000.00 for a total of over $500,000.00 for the single project