Before the Trotter Convention Center can receive its face lift, the facility’s committee must approve an architect for the job.
That has yet to happen, according to committee member and Columbus Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong.
“We’re in the negotiation phase with architects on how much money it will cost and who will do the project,” Armstrong said Wednesday. Through a text message Saturday, he said nothing had changed since his initial update.
While it is not yet known who the architect will be, Bryan Brown of Bryan Brown & Associates confirmed it will not be his firm. Brown said in a letter to The Dispatch his firm was selected among “four or five worthy candidates interviewed,” thanked the city for the opportunity to submit a proposal. Brown wrote his firm was unable to reach an agreement with the city.
“We regret however, after several meetings and discussions with the Selection Committee and a representative of J5 Broaddus, that an amicable agreement in terms of fee, project budget and duties and responsibilities of both the (architect/engineer) and J5 could not be reached,” Brown said in the letter. “We wish the City and good members of the Committee, among them (Trotter Convention Center Director) Frank Goodman, all the luck for what we hope will be a successful project for the citizens of Columbus.”
Brown declined to elaborate further on the statement.
J5/Broaddus, a collaboration between local businessman Jabari Edwards and Texas-based project management firm Broaddus & Associates, was approved by the city council to fill the newly created city role of project manager last month for $90,000 a year plus six percent of fees for each city project it oversees.
Last week, the city and the engineering firm it had used for its services for nearly 40 years, Neel-Schaffer, announced in a joint statement that J5/Broaddus would take over day-to-day project management formerly handled by Neel-Schaffer and the engineering firm would be used by the city on an as-needed basis.
Pryor & Morrow, another local architecture firm considered for the renovation, was recently informed it had not been selected for the project, Chris Morrow confirmed Friday. That firm had previously done a renovation study for the Columbus Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith said in a previous Dispatch report that the project would cost at least $2 million and would include the installation of an elevator from the Second Avenue North entrance as well as a new sound system and upgrades to lighting and restrooms.
The project is to be funded by an in-lieu tax agreement between the city and Columbus Light and Water. CL&W will pay a fee to the city instead of sales tax, general manager Todd Gale said. The total amount given will be $2 million, and the city will pay back $200,000 a year for the next 20 years.
The convention center was created in 1983 through a House bill that also established a two-percent hotel tax to fund the facility and provide for its maintenance. It was built in 1941 and used as a city auditorium and National Guard Armory before it was renovated and reopened in 1987.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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