Shikles Auditorium may receive a face-lift sometime this year.
The Jefferson City Housing Authority, acting as the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, is seeking proposals for redevelopment of the auditorium, located at 1200 Linden Drive.
Redevelopers can submit proposals until 4:30 p.m. April 5 to the Housing Authority at 1040 Myrtle Ave. The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority will review the proposals at 7:30 a.m. April 16.
Renovations must begin within four months of the award, with completion within 18 months. There must be occupancy within three months of rehabilitation completion.
The authority will not consider proposals for demolition, according to the request for proposal.
"We are looking for proposals that will benefit the immediate neighborhood, the community and preserve the beautiful interior," Housing Authority Executive Director Cynthia Quetsch said in a Tuesday news release.
Interested redevelopers can inspect the Shikles Auditorium 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 26. Redevelopers must make reservations to inspect the building by calling 573-635-6163 or emailing [email protected].
Those interested can view the full request for proposal at jchamo.org/resident_information/index.php.
The Land Clearance for Development Authority will develop an evaluation template for potential redevelopers Feb. 19.
The Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department currently leases the Shikles Recreation Center from the Housing Authority. Capital City Productions subleases the auditorium from the Parks department.
Proposals must address how the redeveloper will accommodate CCP through the remainder of its lease, which ends Dec. 31, 2019.
CCP Founder Rob Crouse told the News Tribune the Housing Authority had not told the theater group it planned to seek redevelopment proposals for the building. Parks Director Todd Spalding had sent an email to CCP regarding having someone at the building later this month, Crouse added, but the email did not specify the reason for the request.
"We didn't know anything about the process that they set in place until you sent us the press release," Crouse told the News Tribune. "I would think common respect would warrant them letting us know that they would try to do something."
Quetsch told the News Tribune the Housing Authority had spoken with the Parks department and the department was supposed to tell CCP.
In August 2018, CCP representatives pleaded with the Housing Authority and Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission to work with them to come up with an arrangement for the dinner theater after the Housing Authority discussed selling the building. Representatives said the theater group had invested tens of thousands of dollars in improvements over the last 11 years.
CCP, the Parks department and the Housing Authority have been working on different proposals to address the situation, Crouse said.
Crouse previously said CCP had been unaware of the potential sale until a surveyor came to the building. The Housing Authority told the Parks department of the potential sale but did not speak with CCP, Quetsch said previously.
CCP plans to continue holding its shows at Shikles Auditorium until its lease expires.