The City Council on Tuesday voted to execute a contract on the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the construction of the Sacramento Community Center Theater.
The approval of the agreement with Kitchell, a construction management company, ensures the City will not spend more than $72.8 million in construction costs for the expansion and renovation of the Community Center Theater.
“The City, through the approval of the theater construction budget, is making an investment in the local community,” said Ofelia Avalos, Project Manager. “We want to ensure the arts community is able to compete for and attract world-class performances for decades to come.”
The Community Center theater is part of the C3 Project, which involves the renovation/expansion of the Convention Center, Community Center Theater, and Memorial Auditorium.
The theater’s GMP initially was estimated at $60 million. The increase in construction cost brings the total theater project cost — which includes construction, administrative fees, furnishings and fixtures — from $85 million to an estimated $97 million.
“The increase in construction cost was due to a variety of reasons including national tariff concerns, an extremely busy Northern California labor market, and the highly specialized nature of the project,” Avalos said.
The Sacramento City Council on Sept. 25, 2018 unanimously approved the issuance of up to $350 million in bonds to finance the renovation/expansion of the Convention Center, the Memorial Auditorium and the Community Center Theater.
The bonds will not be repaid from the City’s general fund. Instead, they will be repaid by what’s known as the “transient occupancy tax,” or TOT. This is a 12 percent tax on hotel-room and short-term rental stays used for tourism-related projects. In addition, local hotels have agreed to pay for the construction of the Convention Centers’ new ballroom, which will cost approximately $45 to 50 million.
The first phase of the C3 Project began in early June 2018 with the renovation of the Memorial Auditorium, which will be completed in Spring of 2019 in time for graduation season. The Auditorium will host all scheduled performing arts events during the renovation of the Sacramento Community Center Theater, which begins Summer 2019.
Both the Community Center Theater and the Convention Center will close for construction in Summer 2019 and re-open in Winter 2020. During this time, all shows scheduled at the Community Center Theater will be relocated to the Memorial Auditorium. Meanwhile, conventions and conferences temporarily will be hosted at various venues throughout the city; downtown hotels will continue to host overnight visitors.