Richardson Breaks Ground on Performing Arts Center

City of Richardson officials marked an exciting new phase of cultural and corporate life in Richardson when they broke ground today for the City’s new Performing Arts and Corporate Presentation Center.

“This is quite a day for the City of Richardson,” said Mayor Slagel.  “This City has a reputation for being concerned about those who live here and those who work here,” Slagel said.  “Today, the City Council has taken a tremendous step in the City.  We mean what we say,” he said.

The $30-million center will be strategically located in Galatyn Park^SM, an area of the City that promises to become a new upscale urban center for the North Texas region.  The new Performing Arts and Corporate Presentation Center, which has yet to be formally named, will anchor a two-acre public pedestrian plaza to be bordered by a DART light rail station, a full-service Marriott Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center and a mixed-use area still in development.  The hotel and rail station are currently under construction and are expected to open in the summer of 2001 and the spring of 2002 respectively.  City officials estimate construction on the Performing Arts and Corporate Presentation Center will be completed by the end of 2001.

“We now have four jewels in the crown of Galatyn Park,” the mayor said, referring to the auditorium, the expansion of Nortel Networks’ corporate presence at the site, and the under-construction DART rail station and Marriott Hotel.  “I don’t know how many jewels this crown has, but it surely has four,” Slagel noted.

City Manager Bill Keffler hailed the City’s $30-million commitment to the facility for “solving two significant demands from the arts and corporate communities.  This new performing arts and presentation center will be a wonderful community asset that is sure to have tremendous regional appeal as well, “ Keffler said.  “Arriving at this day has long been the dream of many visionary individuals in our community.  It’s a pleasure to see the facility take shape.”

The center will feature three different venues able to accommodate concurrent performances or presentations.  The largest venue will seat l,500 people on two levels and include a 75-foot stage house and orchestra pit suitable for symphonic, dance and large-scale theatrical productions.  The second venue, designed as a more intimate space, will seat up to 350 people and include a 55-foot stage house.  This space can be used in a traditional theatrical stage setting or, with its apron extended into the audience, can convert to a thrust design.  The third venue of the facility will be a 2,700 square-foot multi-purpose room ideal for pre-concert banquets, business meetings, receptions or small recitals.

“Sound isolation has been a major component of the acoustical design of the facility,” said Managing Director Bruce C. MacPherson.  “A lot of effort is going into achieving the best sound isolation we possibly can as all three venues may be operating at the same time.”

The quality of sound within the various rooms has also been a major consideration.  The shape and finishes of the larger auditorium have been optimized to provide the necessary absorption and sound diffusion for both theatrical and symphonic presentations.  The stage will be equipped with an acoustical shell system for use during the performance of classical music.  “The challenge of the room is to meet the criteria for good symphonic sound but still provide the elements necessary for good theatrical presentation,” said MacPherson.

The infrastructure of the entire center will be equipped with audio/visual and teleconferencing capabilities essential for today’s business meetings.  Located near the intersection of Central Expressway and the President George Bush Turnpike and served by DART light rail, the new facility will be convenient to the entire North Texas region.  But beyond convenience, the flexibility of the building will have wide appeal to both arts groups and corporate meeting planners, MacPherson predicted.  “Many exciting things will come to the City of Richardson via this facility.  There is a growing market out there for just this kind of performing arts and corporate presentation center,” he added.

The structure itself is designed to be forward-looking and open, according to Project Architect Eurico Francisco of RTKL Associates Inc. of Dallas.  The front of the building will be constructed of two glass walls more than 40 feet tall that will face the public plaza and allow visual exchange between the plaza, the hotel and the performing arts center.  “I hope this building invites people in,” Francisco said.  He noted that the structure is designed to reflect the area in which it resides.  “Philosophically, it aligns itself with the type of progressive thinking dominant in the Telecom Corridor®, Francisco added.  “This is not my grandfather’s theater.  It is a building of the present and the future.  I think it will serve the City’s needs well and remain elegant and timeless in the years to come.”

“We have needed a central focal point for the arts in Richardson for a long time,” said Betty Bettacchi, chairman of the Richardson Arts Commission.  “By building this auditorium, the City is stating how important the arts are.  It will allow us to showcase all our arts groups and to bring in other groups to enhance the cultural life in this City.”