- April 19, 2024
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The consulting firm helping Palm Coast design the city's Town Center arts district is suggesting that the city build a $72.6-million, 76,000-square-foot event center there.
The proposed center would be almost double the size of the approximately 35,000-square-foot, 1,000-seat Flagler Auditorium, and the cost would dwarf that of the city's Community Center renovation ($8 million) and City Hall ($9 million), but the firm said the center would eventually break even while generating millions of dollars in tourism revenue for area business.
Council members voiced support for the proposal after Johnson Consulting presented the idea during a Feb. 14 council workshop. Vice Mayor Ed Danko said he saw firsthand what a facility like that can do for a community when he lived in the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
“I love this idea,” he said. “I see a lot of potential with this. And I know it’s a lot of dollars we’ll have to spend or find, but I think this is really worth pursuing.”
The proposal has earned the support of prominent figures in the local arts scene, and while the $72 million price tag might frighten people, City Repertory Theatre co-founder and Artistic Director John Sbordone told the Observer, the cost would be spread out over many years.
"We need to provide an arena for culture, and that's what this is," he said.
Johnson came up with the proposed square footage for the center through an analysis of market demands while working with city staff on plans to develop an arts district in Town Center.
I characterize what we’re going to be presenting today as the living room of Palm Coast and Flagler County. — Charlie Johnson, president, Johnson Consulting
The firm suggested that the event center include meeting rooms, a stage, a kitchen and lobby, and a 30,000-square-foot divisible multipurpose hall with a stage at one end and seating for around 2,000 people.
The city should focus on drawing conference and consumer shows and live entertainment, and could add a children’s museum, outdoor garden or other expansions during the design phase, Johnson Consulting President Charlie Johnson said.
“The key thing we want to do is mix live entertainment and bring a cultural overlay to what you have in Palm Coast,” Johnson said.
The event center, if the council decides to build it, would be constructed in phases.
Johnson recommended that the city add the necessary infrastructure, such as a parking structure and a roof over the nearby amphitheater, along the way.
It could take a year to source funding and design the center, and another year and a half to build it, Johnson said.
Once built, the center would be an amenity for residents and well as an attraction for visitors, he said.
“Your market calls for that now,” Johnson said. “It’s time for quality of life and amenities in this community.”
While large for Flagler, the proposed center would be much smaller than some other venues in the region, such as the Ocean Center in Daytona, and draw different kinds of events.
Ocean Center Director Tim Riddle told the Observer that proposed Palm Coast event center would serve very different demands than the Ocean Center.
"A lot of our business is [for] four or five days," Riddle said. "We're for the masses, the big events."
A 2,000-seat center like the one proposed for Palm Coast, Riddle said, would be more likely to see one-day events or expos and flat floor shows.
City Repertory Theatre was preparing for its third year of Shakespeare in the Park, under a tent in Town Center, when the tent's roof blew off the week before the production.
"And Romeo and Juliet had to come back to our small space at City Repertory Theatre," Sbordone told the council during the meeting. "But that space in Town Center, with a permanent roof on it, can be the center of so many things," Sbordone said.
A permanent facility would be the first step towards an arts district, he said.
"We need that roof. We need it now."
Sbordone was among a procession of local arts community figures, all members of the Arts District Advocacy Group, who voiced support for the event center proposal during the workshop.
He told the Observer that CRT isn't worried about losing out to the proposed center because the venues would be so different: CRT is a 50-seat theatre that focuses on innovative performances.
"I can only see it benefiting what we do at CRT," he said.
Great cities, Sbordone said, are identified by their art. Palm Coast's large venues, meanwhile, revolve around sports.
"Our memorial to the world is the Tennis Center," he said.
Amelia Fulmer directs the Flagler Auditorium on the grounds of Flagler Palm Coast High School. It's now the county's largest performing arts venue, and, if the proposed event center is built, would become the second-largest.
Fulmer doesn't mind.
"We need a place for our children to perform," she told the council at the meeting. "Yes, we have the Flagler Auditorium, but my phone rings every day, and I have to say, 'No, there's not enough space anymore.'"
Flagler County residents shouldn't have to drive to St. Augustine or Orlando for arts events, she said. That denies them the community connections that could be supported through local venues.
"Arts, and culture — even though it's a big, fancy word, it really just means creative community building, " she said.
Palm Coast Arts Foundation President Sam Perkovitch invited listeners to imagine a vibrant Town Center with coffee shops, art galleries, bars, restaurants, lectures and galas.
"Now imagine a performance venue that attracts world-renowned entertainment, and one that supports all of our residents and the surrounding communities," she said. "Well, at 1500 Central Ave., on city-owned property, we have the beginning of that dream."
"Arts, and culture — even though it's a big, fancy word, it really just means creative community building." — Amelia Fulmer, director, Flagler Auditorium
Town Center already has a stage and bathrooms, she noted. Like Sbordone, she noted that the city could begin the new center by adding a roof over the stage.
Doing so, she said, would allow for concerts, bazaars, art fairs and drive-in movies.
"I'm going to challenge each and every one of you, as individuals and as a governing body, to do something — do something other than talking about it this time," she said. "Do something no other City Council has done. Take action. Be the City Council that brings the arts and culture to our burgeoning city.
The proposed event center would ultimately break even, Johnson told the council.
But it would generate revenue for the community by drawing in visitors who would spend money at hotels and other local businesses.
Johnson's firm projects that by year 10, the Palm Coast event center would generate $3.02 million in on-site spending, $11.3 million in off-site spending, $9.4 million in indirect and induced spending and $1.4 million in total tax revenues, while supporting 187 indirect jobs annually.
Adding a roof at the existing amphitheater in Town Center could cost $1.56 million, and a 500-space parking structure could come in at $15 million, the equivalent of $25,000 per space.
Council member Theresa Carli Pontieri asked if the city could draw additional revenue by bringing in indoor sports competitions like gymnastics.
Assistant City Manager Lauren Johnston said that while the city could look into competitions during the design process, sports and performance arts generally have competing acoustic requirements.
The event center proposal is not without risks, Johnson acknowledged: Its cost would rise if the project were delayed. Decreasing the center’s proposed size for cost reasons would change the projected market demand.
The city would also have to secure funding, and the event center would require a strong marketing strategy, Johnson said.
I love this idea ... I see a lot of potential with this. And I know it’s a lot of dollars we’ll have to spend or find, but I think this is really worth pursuing. — Ed Danko, Palm Coast vice mayor
Flagler County's Tourist Development Office Director Amy Lukasik told the Observer that in many cases, funding for event centers comes in the form of a private-public partnership.
“I think everyone is on board that it'd be a great asset to our community, but obviously, that it takes a lot of a lot of money to make that happen," she said.
She noted that the facility wouldn’t just house arts and cultural events, but also function as a meeting or conference space. In that situation, Lukasik said, having hotels nearby in Town Center would also help — and Palm Coast doesn’t have them yet.
“It's very important that the meeting space is near those hotels ... ideally, almost being able to walk," she said.“So that's also a challenge to think about, because you don't want to make it inconvenient for people.”
The City Council must affirm the proposal as a priority during the city's strategic planning process to move forward.
But Mayor David Alfin said events hosted in the area, such as the Songwriter’s Festival, are already outgrowing existing venues and need more space.
“There’s no limiting forecast that I’m aware of,” he said. “It could continue to grow.”
If the council decides to build the center, the next phase would include design and determining a location.
Alfin pointed out that the study was missing input from nearby educational facilities. He agreed with a comment by Pontieri that the city would need to draw in the right kinds of businesses to surround the facility.
Council member Cathy Heighter said an event center could really enhance the lives of Palm Coast residents.
“I think this city is ready,” she said. “For me, this has been long awaited.”
I think this city is ready. For me, this has been long awaited. — Cathy Heighter, Palm Coast Council member
Council member Nick Klufas said he believed the center would be a great opportunity for current residents and inclusive of all of Palm Coast’s generations.
“I tremendously, from the bottom of my heart, want to say thank you to all of our advocates of the arts who are in our community,” Klufas said. “And I will continue to support these initiatives.”
— Jonathan Simmons contributed to this story.
