Renovations and improvements to the Bell Auditorium could get underway sooner rather than later.
That project was included in the overall design for the New James Brown Arena. However, the project stalled when Richmond County voters rejected a Nov. 2, 2021 bond referendum to pay for the project. More than 60% of the 12,844 ballots cast opposed the $240 million dollar referendum.
Project manager HB Brantley of Atlanta-based SPACE had recommended to the members of the Coliseum Authority to move forward with work on the Bell. Authority members approved doing so during their June 28 meeting.
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Shawn Adams of Perkins+Will, the design and architecture firm working on the JBA project, presented an expansion discovery overview at the meeting. It summed up needed renovations and repairs and included improvements they recommend.
“We’ll be renovating the existing club. We’ll be renovating and adding men’s and women’s restrooms to that eastside along with renovations to do dressing rooms and green rooms. On the opposite side, we would be looking at taking over the storage room with a women’s and men’s restroom,” he said.
The plan includes adding an elevator connecting the green rooms with the stage. It would also move forward with the connector piece that would lead to the new JBA.
Brad Usry, chairman of the new JBA subcommittee, said the advantage to moving forward with the Bell renovations means it would stay open for shows once funding is secured to pay to demolish the existing arena and build a new one.
“That was one of the challenges we had when we were talking about the projects being done together is we really wanted to keep the Bell open, and we weren’t going to try just to close it for 90 days. With this process going on before the full renovation, we’re hoping it won’t close, we hope it will never go dark during the whole process,” he said
Authority members approved $884,000 for Perkins+Will to begin the design services.
Brantley also updated the board on hiring a construction manager. He said the RFP has been posted and they’ve heard from seven firms interested in the position. The proposals are due July 19 and Brantley said they hope to hire someone by Aug. 1.
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During their May 24 meeting, authority members approved an agreement with ILS Corporate Services, LLC of New York to explore using New Market Tax Credits to help pay for the project.
NMTC is a program by the U.S. Treasury Department through the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
The program targets community development and economic growth with tax credits to attract private investors specifically to low income and distressed communities.
The arena project’s location on Seventh Street meets all three federal guidelines of poverty rate, median family income and unemployment rate.
Usry said another advantage to moving forward with the renovations to the Bell is it will be a centerpiece to show Richmond County voters the value in a new entertainment complex. It also demonstrates how the authority is using money already allocated from the SPLOST 8 funds.
SPLOST 8, approved by voters in March 2021, included $25 million in seed money to help kick off the project to build a new JBA that will seat 10,000 people for a concert. By comparison, the existing arena seats about 6,500 for a concert.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
