Brief timeline on the project officially known as The Grove at GPAC (aka The Money Pit)
1994 - GPAC opened
2007 – Smart Growth rezoned this space from R Single Family Residential to T5 Urban Center
?? Exact time The Grove project was first approved and cost estimates revealed. Although I may have missed some other references, below are the dates I can find in BMA Minutes and media reporting:
September 20, 2017 – There is a photo in a CA article, published October 2, 2019 (link near end of this post), with the caption using this date: “September 20, 2017 - Paul Chandler, executive director at GPAC, and Parke Kennedy, director of development at GPAC, stand in the area where Germantown and the Germantown Performing Arts Center will construct a new $4 million concert and events facility called The Grove at GPAC." And another photo has the caption "A rendering of the plaza area at The Grove at GPAC. The $4 million project is expected to break ground next summer for a Fall 2019 opening." And within the text of the article it states it was announced in September 2017. However I could not find any reference in BMA Minutes until July 2018, so guess I overlooked something?
July 9, 2018 – BMA Minutes – Approval of Warrants
GPAC seeks approval to add an outdoor entertainment venue that will meet their goals and needs for this site. This requires 2 warrants - to allow civic space within an area not designated on the regulating plan and to allow architectural screen up to 10’ in height.
August 13, 2018 – BMA Minutes – Contract – GPAC Grove Fire Truck Turnaround – Installation contract with Barnes and Brower, Inc for $69,277 approved.
Within these minutes, the statement is made:
“GPAC and the City agreed to equally share the construction expenses of The Grove” and says construction is to start in the middle of September 2018.
NOTE: Not sure exactly when GPAC and the City made this agreement. But, somewhere along the way, the agreement was made and the amount was to be $4 MILLION with City and GPAC splitting cost.November 26, 2018 – BMA Minutes “unsuitable soils” cause change order and increase of $11,794, so $81,071 for fire truck turnaround.
December 10, 2018 – BMA Minutes –GPAC says they have raised more money and asks the City to increase the $2 MILLION to match. This will take our taxpayer $$$ to $2,528,052.47. Alderman Dean Massey makes a motion to defer approval of this item for 90 days, but motion failed.
NOTE: Although I did not ever see this in any official discussion, $500,000 of that $528,052.47 increase was covered by transfer of money that had been designated for Exeter streetscape. I received this info in response to inquiry about mention in early 2019 article about streetscape plans for Exeter.April 26, 2019 – Media announcement that GPAC would receive grant from State of Tennessee in the amount of $2.5 MILLION to be used for The Grove. So, at this point, $5,028,052.47 of our Germantown and Tennessee tax $$$ are committed to this project.
NOTE: Many of us foolishly hoped this would be used to partially offset the City’s $2,528,052.47. Shame on us for having such foolish hopes. September 9, 2019 – BMA Minutes – Change orders No. 10, 11, 12 and 13, which totaled a $719,730.15 increase in the construction contract with Grinder, Taber & Grinder.
Alderman Dean Massey made a motion to defer the item until the next meeting. Motion failed.
Also at this same BMA, the professional services agreement (PSA) amount for contract with Archimania was increased from $397,332 to $433,981
Another post in this forum contains more information and perspective on this particular BMA meeting
http://germantowntnuncensored.com/smf/index.php?topic=47.0October 2, 2019 article by Corinne Kennedy in the Commercial Appeal covers some of this timeline
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/suburbs/germantown/2019/10/02/germantown-performing-arts-center-close-completing-outdoor-venue-the-grove-gpac/2441561001/Also found this article from WMC Action News 5 stating announcement in September 2017.
https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/36424956/4m-concert-venue-on-the-way-to-germantown/So at this point, the total amount that we will spend to build an outdoor venue on 1.5 acres of land we already owned ??
More than $7.5 MILLION with over $5 MILLION of that being our tax dollars