Lacking enough tenants for a previously proposed hotel, Des Moines based development firm CBRE Hubbell now wants to take over Memorial Auditorium and double the building’s seating capacity.
The possibility of a hotel is still on, according to the developer, but it's on hold for a few years so the redeveloped auditorium can bring in heavier traffic.
CBRE Hubbell representative Ryan Jensen told the Burlington City Council Monday that the auditorium expansion, as well potential new management, would increase Burlington foot traffic exponentially — anywhere from 200 to 500 people downtown, 250 days a year.
That increased traffic, which could be attained in as little as four years, Jensen said, would provide the tenants for the previously proposed hotel on the riverfront.
CBRE Hubbell has a one-year agreement with the city to exclusively develop riverfront plans, but that agreement expires next month.
Jensen said he would need 60 to 90 days to develop a cost estimate for the firm’s plan, which would require the city to renew the agreement with CBRE Hubbell for another year.
“I’m asking to have time to create that (estimate),” Jensen said.
During the extended contract, Jensen would then ask the city for money to redevelop the auditorium and possibly hire a new manager. That would increase revenue coming into Burlington, counting additional business for retailers, to around $8 million, he said.
“We think that can happen just by recreating new energy, bringing in the right team of operators. Again, that could be a team that encompasses the current folks,” he said.
Jensen cited three concert and venue promoters CBRE Hubbell is working with, including ASM Global, which he cited as the largest venue operator in the country. The firm also is working Live Nation and Burlington Riverfront Entertainment, which currently manages the auditorium.
He envisions BRE working with national venue managers.
“Live Nation is the second-largest (event organizer). We met with them in person once, and had two different conference calls with that group,” Jensen said.