 Cover photo: File / Oliver Hammond / CC)
The City of Rochester Chateau Theatre Reuse Task Force is looking for input from the public on a proposed plan of action developed by the City's consulting team, Miller Dunwiddie, for the adaptive reuse of the Historic Chateau Theatre as a multipurpose performing arts center in downtown Rochester, MN. Two Public Engagement/Information/Input sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, September 27. The first session will be held at 12 Noon at U of M - Rochester Room #414, and the second session will be at 7:00 PM at City Hall - Conference Room #104. Please come with questions and feel free to share your thoughts and observations.
These will be public meetings and while a quarum of The City Council, The City of Rochester Chateau Theatre Reuse Task Force, and The City of Rochester Music Board may attend these sessions, no official City business will be transacted during these meetings.
In support of this effort, the consultant team also invites community members to respond to the survey linked below. The survey should only take five to 10 minutes to complete and will inquire about how you engage with art and culture in Rochester, your interest in increased arts programming, and your thoughts on redeveloping the Chateau Theatre.
TAKE THE SURVEY
For your convenience, the final versions of the Miller Dunwiddie consultant reports are available to view or download here:
Chateau Theatre Executive Summary Report
Chateau Theatre Proposed Design Concepts
Chateau Theatre Consultant Full Report
Background:
Webb Management Services was hired by the City of Rochester as part of a team led by Miller Dunwiddie Architecture to conduct a Needs Assessment investigating the feasibility of rehabilitating Rochester’s historic Chateau Theatre. The study was based on an extensive process that included individual and group interviews, the touring of existing facilities, an analysis of the market, a review of the competitive situation, a user demand assessment, and research on comparable communities and projects.
The Miller Dunwiddie team, including Webb Management Services and Schuler Shook, has been working over the last few months to understand the underlying goals for the project and to develop an understanding of the needs and concerns.
During the third week in July Webb Management Services began the initial research and information gathering necessary to complete the market analysis. Webb Management Services is a management consulting practice for arts and cultural entities. In total 74 interviews were conducted by the firm both in Rochester and over the phone to gather input from a range of constituents within the community (including artists, arts and cultural leaders, facility users, political and business leaders, and other community members). The weeks that followed have been spent by the team analyzing this and other information gathered to understand the feasibility of redeveloping the Chateau Theatre from a market perspective.
A presentation of this work and the recommendation to proceed with design and concepts for the Chateau Theatre as a performing arts and event space was presented to the Chateau Theatre Reuse Task Force Steering Committee on August 22. This presentation included a summary of a number of factors that impact the state of arts across the country. With this understanding as a platform the presenter, Duncan Webb, explained how the information and analysis from Rochester fits within this greater context and how the local market analysis demonstrates the need and desire for an activated Chateau as a performance and event space.
The next step following this presentation was for the Miller Dunwiddie team to explore the range of options possible for fitting a performance and event space within the physical reality and context of the Chateau. During a presentation given on Tuesday, September 6, Miller Dunwiddie and Schuler Shook walked the full Task Force through the programmatic needs outlined in the Webb report. Concept diagrams were also shown to explain possible opportunities. The purpose of the September 27 sessions will be to present and explain these options to the public. Following this presentation, the team will continue to develop the design concepts, working toward a work scope and budget for presentation to the Chateau Theatre Reuse Task Force and community by late October.
About Riverside Concerts: Riverside Concerts (formerly known as Rochester Civic Music), has been your City of Rochester Music Department since 1936. Riverside Concerts is a municipal arts presenter and producer that continues to provide the region with accessible, quality musical events such as the Down by the Riverside free summer concert series; the Riverside Live! indoor, ticketed concert series; the musical acts at the Thursdays on First & 3rd summer market and music festival; the World Music Series which continues to explore musical landscapes from around the globe; the Artist-In-the-Schools residency program which brings great artists directly to our youth while at school; and our community music program that celebrates the local musician through the volunteer ensembles the Rochester Concert Band & Choir, under the direction of Chuck Blattner.
Riverside Concerts - General Information
Government Center - City Hall 201 4th St. SE, Suite 170
Rochester, MN 55904
info@riversideconcerts.com
507-328-2200
WEB: http://www.riversideconcerts.com
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
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