Groups Vie to Reimagine Historic Theater in Harlem; Large-Scale

Subject: here's another one
Date: 4/2/2005 2:44:59 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
From: kitchen@hellskitchen.net
To: Reysmont@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)


I should be getting the PDF of the entire booklet they publish...


February 1, 2005

Groups Vie to Reimagine Historic Theater in Harlem; Large-Scale Development Raises Preservation Concerns
By ROBIN POGREBIN
NY Times

For years, the Loew's Victoria Theater, a once-elegant vaudeville house and
movie palace, has languished on West 125th Street in Harlem.

Just a few doors down from its famous neighbor the Apollo Theater, the
Victoria went from being celebrated as one of the city's largest and most
beautiful theaters to failing as a five-screen multiplex that opened in
1987 and closed just two years later. Since then, the theater's Ionic
columns and terra-cotta rosettes have decayed and the stage has remained
bare, except for occasional small theatrical productions or church
services. The marquee recently advertised a lingerie sale across the street.

Now, seven teams of developers, hoteliers and cultural organizations are
competing to reimagine the site as a major new
entertainment-hotel-residential complex. New York State, which owns the
property, is interviewing the applicants and expects to make a decision in
March.

The Empire State Development Corporation, which is evaluating the proposals
with the Harlem Community Development Corporation, its subsidiary, declined
to identify the applicants or describe their proposals.

But documents obtained by The New York Times show that the state has
narrowed the field to seven groups. Under terms set by the state, each team
has enlisted an arts organization as part of its proposal, like the Bottom
Line, the jazz club that recently closed in Greenwich Village; or the Jazz
Museum in Harlem, which has yet to find a home. The development teams
include hoteliers like Starwood and Ian Schrager; architects like Fox &
Fowle, Davis Brody Bond and Lee Harris Pomeroy; and developers like Related
Companies and Apollo Real Estate Advisers, which together built the Time
Warner Center.

''This is a great opportunity for Harlem and more specifically for 125th
Street as it inches toward becoming an even grander destination,'' said
Derek Q. Johnson, chairman of Integrated Holdings, which has partnered with
Related.

But development projects involving historic buildings are often magnets for
controversy, and the Victoria is no exception. While the theater has been
deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, it
is not a designated landmark -- and the state is not requiring that the
neo-Classical theater, with its ornate moldings and ceilings, be preserved.

''That is effectively a smack in the face to the community,'' said City
Councilman Bill Perkins, who represents parts of Harlem. ''There is going
to be a little bit of a fight on this, I can guarantee you.''

''That's a historic theater, and we'd like to see proposals recognize
that,'' he continued. ''The preservation issue is compatible with the
development issue.''

At a meeting on Friday of the Harlem Community Development Corporation, the
issue of preservation was addressed. While all of the proposals would
involve retaining the facade, only two specify restoring some interior
features. Michael Henry Adams, the Harlem historian and author of ''Harlem:
Lost and Found'' (Monacelli Press, 2002), said he found this troubling.
''Whatever happens, I would like it to incorporate the beautiful interiors
of this historic Harlem theater,'' he said.

In particular, Mr. Adams cited the elliptical anteroom on the second floor,
the bas-relief decoration on the theater's saucer dome ceiling, the long
mirrored lobby and the theater's gilded bronze and crystal chandeliers.

The 2,394-seat Victoria was designed in 1917 by Thomas W. Lamb, who built
dozens of Loew's theaters around the world and several Broadway houses.
''It should not be allowed to be destroyed,'' Mr. Adams said. ''Were it
restored, it would be one of the most distinguished theaters in New York.''

Over the last few years, Harlem has seen an explosion of commercial
development, from a new Marriott Hotel to Harlem U.S.A., a retail center,
both on 125th Street. Developers say there is still a demand for more hotel
rooms as well for apartments to accommodate professionals. But some people
who live and work in Harlem are concerned that the influx in large-scale
development will compromise the neighborhood's character and displace
longtime residents.

Mr. Perkins argues that the Victoria development project -- indeed, the
overall influx of commercial building in Harlem -- should not be mistaken
for a larger revival. ''These days, 'renaissance' is defined by real
estate,'' he said. ''It's not a term to describe an intellectual, cultural,
educational rebirth.''

''What these people want us to do is be grateful that deals are being
made,'' he said. ''The easy way out is to tear something down and put
something up.''

Tensions are also brewing between the two agencies responsible for choosing
a development plan for the site. Keith L.T. Wright, chairman of the Harlem
Community Development Corporation, said his organization had been excluded
from decision-making by the Empire State Development Corporation. ''There
has been no consultation whatsoever,'' said Mr. Wright, also a state
assemblyman whose district includes Harlem. ''It's plantationism at its best.''

''This is the last big development piece on 125th Street,'' he said. ''I
just want to make sure some of my community groups are taken care of. They
want a piece of the action.''

But Deborah Wetzel, a spokeswoman for the Empire State Development
Corporation, said that the Harlem Community Development Corporation had
been fully consulted. ''We've been working very closely with them,'' she
said. ''We're assisting them every step of the way; they sit in on every
meeting and their board has final approval.'' The Harlem Urban Development
Corporation, a precursor of the community development corporation, acquired
the Apollo and the Victoria in the mid-1980's to save them from conversion
to nontheater use.

Two of the proposals feature the Jazz Museum, which was founded four years
ago to present exhibitions and further jazz education.

The proposal submitted by the RD Management Corporation, a real estate
investment and development company, calls the Jazz Museum ''the jewel in
the crown'' of its $116 million multi-use development. The proposal plans
to retain the theater's façade with a new marquee and overall design by Fox
& Fowle Architects.

Taking a page from the new Jazz at Lincoln Center building at Columbus
Circle, which -- in addition to its main stage -- includes a jazz club and
a theater with a glass wall overlooking Central Park South, the proposal
calls for a ''jazz cafe'' on the second floor for small ensembles. A
bandstand would be framed by a large window on the 125th Street side of the
building.

Now that Jazz at Lincoln Center is open in the Time Warner Center, the
proposal says, momentum has been created for a Harlem-based jazz
institution ''whose aesthetic will be informed by the sensibilities of the
uptown community.''

RD Management's submission also includes a 150-room hotel that would house
a gallery for African-American art and a Harlem-themed restaurant. ''For
example,'' the proposal says, ''the menu might offer a Zora Neale Hurston
salad, a Romare Bearden pasta, a Miles Davis omelette and a Denzel burger.''

The Jazz Museum would also be the cultural centerpiece of a $123 million
proposal by Integrated Holdings and Related for a 150-room boutique hotel
-- with Inter-Continental as a possible operator -- and 90 residential
condominium units.

Apollo Real Estate Advisers, along with Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Worldwide, has proposed a $103 million W Hotel with 156 rooms, 58
residential condominiums and 4,000 square feet of office space for the
Apollo Theater Foundation. The Apollo Theater space would include rehearsal
and education areas, a black box theater and an Apollo cafe. The architect
on the project is Davis Brody Bond.

A proposal by the Victoria Tower Development suggests a $150 million B.B.
King Entertainment Center with a jazz dinner club; an art gallery run by
the Studio Museum in Harlem; and a five-star, 304-room hotel. The other
groups in the running are Full Spectrum, which has proposed a $111 million
complex including 78 luxury condominiums and two clubs -- Victoria Small's
Paradise and 930 Blues Cafe with programming that reflects black and Latino
culture.

Thor Equities, which specializes in urban real estate projects, proposes a
$70 million complex, including boutiques like Armani Exchange, Club Monaco
and Kay Jewelers; a revived Bottom Line club, possibly with a recording
studio; and a 238-room hotel.

Danforth Development Partners proposes creating a $113 million new Savoy
Ballroom with banquet space for 300 people, a 90-room hotel designed by Mr.
Schrager and two new theaters for Harlem-based performing arts companies
like Classical Theater of Harlem, Bill T. Jones Dance Group and the Harlem
School of the Arts.

At the meeting on Friday, it was clear that several Harlem Community
Development Corporation board members were worried that a treasured
neighborhood landmark would be erased. One board member asked, ''Can this
theater be demolished?''

Diane P. Phillpotts, president of the corporation, replied that substantial
changes to the building would require consultation with the New York State
Historic Preservation Office.

''I understand the importance of preservation,'' she said. ''We also have
to balance that against the economic development potential of the property.''