Auto Hotel Arts and Cultural Center

OSCD-2

Observation

The existing Auto Hotel is a building of re-markable character. It attracts the claims of several worthy organizations.

Discussion

This now vacant building is under ownership by the State of Louisiana. It is a loft building with tall ceilings, big, elegant windows, a usable rooftop, and a large unusual ramp at its center. It has a desirable Bohemian character rare in Baton Rouge. It must not be unduly gentrified, as this type of space is attractive to artists. Since this character is difficult to achieve with a new construction, the claims by arts groups should take precedence.

The Auto Hotel itself should retain its rough finishes, including perhaps its paint and signage, with most of the walls receiving only pressure cleaning. The windows should be restored, not replaced. Those that are damaged on the facades should be rebuilt by cannibalizing those on the south party wall. The ramp should be retained to provide a continuous spiral art gallery like that of the Guggenheim Museum. The roof garden should be available for sculpture and/or gatherings. The “gallery ramp” at the windowless core of the building is unsuitable for habitable uses. This type of light renovation would constitute a substantial savings relative to a conventional renovation. The perimeter of the building however is appropriate for artists’ studios or small offices for arts organizations. There are many art organizations currently dispersed throughout the parish that are not creating a synergy. The Downtown is the natural location for such organizations. Most studios should be leased, but others made available to visiting artists, historians, craftspeople, lecturers, and scholars, on programs determined by the various arts organizations, and the universities. (Seaside has had such a program for years. There is also precedent for this in the Andron or city guest-houses of the Greek city-states.) This program, while not unprecedented in academia, would be a first for an American municipality.

The eastern (windowless) portion of the first floor of the Auto Hotel can be made available for a children’s theater. The western and northern edge of the first floor should bereserved for restaurant and cafe use, providing activity to the park and serving the visitors to the Old State Capitol.

The roof of the building could be rented to private individuals and organizations as it is one of the few roof terraces in the city that can take the live load of 200 psf (approx.) required for public assembly.

Recommendation

Clean and waterproof the Auto Hotel immediately. Take the proposed design shown on Exhibit B as a guideline to program the entities into the building. Secure retail businesses for the first floor spaces and a managing entity for the roof terrace. Once the space allocation is determined, commission the architectural drawings for the renovation.

Responsibility

State Commissioner of Administration.

Project Status

Jerry Campbell and Associates completed Phase I renovations of the Auto Hotel for the State of Louisiana in 2001. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation entered into a partnership with state government to develop and manage - through an LLC - the state-owned Auto Hotel property. The state agreed to renovate the building, and the Foundation, along with LSU School of Art and the Arts Council, will convert the building to house an arts gallery and arts classes, as well as arts incubator spaces. The first floor of the building will contain retail space and a destination restaurant. Additionally, LSU’s School of Art received a generous donation from Paula Garvey Manship’s designated fund at the Foundation to support its art activities at the Auto Hotel.As the arts center was taking shape, the Arts Council hired a consulting firm to determine the feasibility of a new performing arts theater that could support local and visiting productions. Theater Projects Consultants, Inc. concluded that the city could support a 300-350 seat venue, particularly if there were nearby arts organizations to build foot traffic in the area. The obvious location for the new theater was on the city block with the Auto Hotel.LSU was planning to relocate the Museum of Art - in LSU’s Memorial Tower - to property near LSU’s Rural Life Museum on Essen Lane. Jennifer Eplett Reilly saw another opportunity to grow the Arts Block and suggested to LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert that the university consider moving downtown instead. Soon thereafter, LSU joined the ranks of the center’s collaborators.Currently under construction, Baton Rouge’s Shaw Center for the Arts has all the components of successful cultural districts found in other cities and is being designed by the nationally renowned architectural firm, Schwartz/Silver Architects in collaboration with Eskew + Dumez + Ripple and Jerry Campbell and Associates. The Groundbreaking Gala for the Shaw Center was December 10, 2002. For updated information and architectural renderings, see www.schwartzsilver.com, user name: pub; password: tigers.

Implementation

Explanation of Terms

Product

Cultural Center in a Renovated Building

Responsibility

SCA

Implementing Agent

SCA

Feasibility Analysis

SCA

Initial Financing

SCA

Project Financing

SCA

Timing