$100 million plans discussed for Thomas Wolfe Auditorium renovation as building crumbles

ASHEVILLE - After a summer season of HVAC units failing, the rescheduling of the Asheville Symphony’s season and a temporary closure, local leaders met at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center Aug. 21 to discuss the future of the 83-year-old Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. The discussion was hosted by ArtsAVL.

Five plans were proposed during the meeting, with some ranging near $200 million. City officials and local leaders discussed where funding would come from, the importance of the theater, and a timeline for the project.

Discussion of renovating the auditorium is not new. In the past 20 years, nine separate studies have been performed analyzing a possible renovation of the auditorium.

Less than four years ago, another renovation plan was announced, potentially costing $100 million. Four out of five of the new proposed plans have a price tag at or above $100 million.

Falling bricks, seats catching on fire

Opened in 1940, the auditorium was most recently renovated in 1974, though major concerns, like practical safety, have been more recent.

Prior to the discussion, Chris Corl, director of Community and Regional Entertainment Facilities for the city, led a tour of the facility displaying its various quirks, details and old infrastructure.

Going from the main auditorium to the abandoned 1940 boiler room, the difficulties in the auditorium's infrastructure are numerous.

In the main auditorium, seat lighting has been turned off to avoid one tricky problem ― electrical fires.

“The seat lights are not on right now because the conduits have failed to the point that we can’t run new wire through it,” Corl said. “Believe it or not, like four seats actually caught on fire in the middle of the day that we've had to put out because of the electrical issues.”

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Corl believes that there are about 80 seats in the 2,431-capacity auditorium that are broken or inoperable.

Here are some takeaways from the Citizen Times tour of the auditorium:

• Prior to a February show, some bricks above the stage had fallen onto the stage. It has been evaluated by a structural engineer, but Corl said that they will “keep monitoring.”

• The only access point for the attic, where the broken primary HVAC system resides, is a roughly 2-foot-wide, 3-foot-tall door.

• The building still uses the original lighting board from the 1940 building, and designs its own parts for the board.

• The peeling paint on the ceiling would cost nearly $100,000 to replace alone, Corl said.

Future of the building

The five plans from the Aug. 21 discussion were presented with a “conservative” price tag as the design company, Earl Swensson Associates, only had three weeks, Corl said.

Each design had a respective 2023 and 2028 budget, as, after planning and permitting, “2028 is really the most realistic start for a renovation of the theater,” Corl said. All of the budgets below are from the 2028 figures.

The 'menu' of plans:

• The ‘Broadway approach.’

  • This plan would cost $183-$198 million, and would largely follow the original 2020 proposal from Earl Swensson.

• The ‘acoustic driven approach.’

  • This plan would cost $130 million-$150 million, and would prioritize high-quality sound while improving the flow of patrons, food and beverage services, and seating.

• The ‘improved rake floor.’

  • This plan would cost $105-$125 million and would improve the flow of the patrons, along with improving food beverage services and seating.

• The ‘flat floor.’

  • This plan would cost $90-110 million. It would take out all primary seating from the auditorium and replace it with a “Finmore style” flat floor for multi-purpose events.

• The ‘basic infrastructure.’

  • This plan would cost $42-$52 million and would aim to replace just the primary infrastructure concerns of the building, along with replacing seating.

Closure hurts symphony, local economy

Employing 140 musicians, a $2.5 million dollar budget and an annual economic impact of up to $8 million, the Asheville Symphony tries to make sense of its own fate.

“We can weather this sort of storm for a couple of years,” said Daniel Crupi, executive director of the Asheville Symphony. “But if it drags on in perpetuity, the symphony is going to have a really hard time making things work.”

Earlier this month, the Citizen Times reported on the Asheville Symphony’s status after the auditorium’s closure, with many venues being far smaller than the Thomas Wolfe.

Vic Isley, president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, said that the closure only continues a period of local economic difficulty.

“We've heard from retail, restaurant, entertainment businesses, not to mention our lodging partners, that sales are down anywhere from 10-20% year over year,” Isley said. “And now the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium has failed due to lack of basic maintenance — it’s a double whammy for our businesses and livelihoods.”

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Isley also mentioned that sales tax from April this year was down $315,000 from 2022, or about 10%.

“These self-inflicted wounds are really painful,” Isley said.

Earlier this month, Corl estimated that the closure of the auditorium would lead to a $20.5 million reduction in economic impact in the area for this year alone. Total closure of the building would potentially cost $27.5 million for this year.

Where would funding come from?

One of the primary questions during the discussion was finding funding. In order to pay for a project this size, members of the panel discussed using bonds and partnering with the Tourism Development Authority.

“In terms of funding, there are a few components here,” Mayor Esther Manheimer said. “One, you’ve got your funding partners, which we will be leaning on, with the Tourism Development Authority being an obvious one.”

Isley also noted that recent ballot measures for general obligation bonds have passed in Asheville, and could be used to pay for a project of this size if put on the ballot in the coming years.

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‘Why renovate?’

For Manheimer, the proposal comes as support for a larger performing arts center seems to wane.

“It has become clear that a performing arts center or a performing arts space might happen, but might not happen immediately,” Manheimer said. “And there is demand for people to come back together in a venue like the Thomas Wolfe.”

Additionally, Manheimer believes that the project reflects greater aspirations for downtown.

“You're creating a space that affects — in a positive way —  an entire downtown,” Manheimer said. “It encourages people to want to be there, to want to work there, to want to live there, to want to have their experiences there.”

Is the auditorium permanently closed for renovation?

In July, the Citizen Times reported that efforts to repair the HVAC system would cost $1.5 million and would take six to nine months.

As a result, a “quick fix” solution is underway for the auditorium, which would allow it to open in November, though with reduced seating capacity.

Next steps

During the discussion, the repair timeline for the auditorium was announced, along with a possible timeline for renovation plans:

• Repairs started Aug. 17.

• Rest of August: City of Asheville will work with specialists to determine potential renovation options for the auditorium with updated pricing.

• November: Short-term HVAC repairs completed, auditorium will reopen with reduced capacity for non-ticketed events.

• Early 2024: vetted recommendations for renovation presented to City Council.

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Will Hofmann is the Citizen Times Growth and Development Reporter. Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Four $100 million plans discussed for Thomas Wolfe Auditorium