The following is the opening paragraph of a detailed financial analysis of the cost of building and operating a Reston Visual and Performing Arts Center. You may read the 10-page report in its entirety on Scribd.com at this link.
After a series of presentations from an RCC consultant and two district town hall meetings, there remains little clarity on the cost of proceeding with a 57,000 square foot Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC) in Reston Town Center as proffered by Boston Properties. To date, the only financial information the community has received is the consultant’s ROM estimate that its proposed VPAC would cost $58 million if built this year and $81.4 million if built in 2030. It provided no insight on the long-term capital or operational position of such a facility. Based on the information provided by the consultant and our review of several other consultant reports on performing arts centers, we believe the following is a fair summary of the best cast scenario costs for a Reston VPAC built in 2030:
Table 1: 20-Year Total Cost
of Reston VPAC
of Reston VPAC
Construction Cost $135,938,000
Operating Shortfall (Best Case) $ 28,311,321
Total Cost $164,249,321
What alternatives to a Reston VPAC are being considered to meet a validated community interest or need? What other competitive commercial alternatives are available now, proposed or currently under development in the Fairfax footprint? Have decentralized alternatives to a single central VPAC been considered that may better serve the community''s diverse and changing interests, and possibly be less costly or allow for more agile programming of annual funds to support the specific needs or alternative community needs? Is there a comprehensive report that has identified or addressed the array of community visual/performance arts opportunities available now or is the focus limited to a single "answer" without analyzing options for citizens to meet their interests, including virtual options? Can a smaller venue be built with other decentralized options also used to address a validated need? Will the new venue include parking and has traffic congestion been considered?
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