New Convention Hall to Look Like Pre-1962 Design?

CAPE MAY — The city’s Convention Hall Committee wants a new hall that looks like the facility that existed until it was destroyed by a 1962 winter storm.
At a special meeting Aug. 1, members told Martin Kimmel, an architect and president of Kimmel Bogrette of Cherry Hill, they would like a new convention hall to resemble an earlier convention hall that featured a center arcade with retail stores facing the boardwalk. They also favor a one-story hall that would require demolishing the Solarium to obtain extra space.
Committee member James Wyatt asked the entrance remain at the front instead of a suggested entrance on the rear talking advantage of an ocean view.
What remains to be decided, would an arcade walkway extend down the center of the building or be located off to one side.
Member Tom Carroll said his conversations with the public indicated support for recreating the two-story facade of the historic hall.
Kimmel said if a single story hall was chosen, having an entrance in the center of an arcade leading from the promenade presented a very significant design challenge. He said a new convention hall could have an entrance from the promenade with retail and restaurant space on the ocean side.
The city has been promised up to a $3 million grant from Casino Redevelopment Investment Authority (CRDA) for a new facility based on a construction cost of $21 million. At a July 18 meeting, Kimmel presented five design concepts with prices ranging from $4.2 million to $10.2 million.
City Manager Luciano V. Corea offered calculations as to how much CRDA would contribute to less costly convention halls. He said CRDA was offering a grant to cover 14.3 percent of construction costs.
Scheme one presented by Kimmel showed a one-story convention center remaining in the existing footprint with a hall about the size of the current one. Cost estimate: $4.2 million.
Corea said CRDA would contribute $609,000 leaving the city with a net cost $3.6 million. That would add 1.6 cents in debt service to the city’s tax rate, he said.
Scheme two would use the existing footprint plus 50-feet of the beach to create retail space at the promenade end of the convention center creating a 16,000 square-foot building. Estimated cost: $5.4 million. After CRDA’s contribution, the city would owe $4.6 million, adding 2.1 cents to debt service.
Scheme three would create a two-story building creating a 23,345 square-foot convention hall, placing the main hall on the second floor allowing more retail on the first floor. Cost estimate: $6.6 million. After CRDA’s contribution, the city would owe $5.6 million or 2.5 cents in debt service.
Scheme four would be a one-story convention center demolishing the Solarium and creating an arcade. The center would have 17,600 square feet including a main hall of 8,500 square feet, two retail stores, a kitchen, a formal lobby, administrative office and storage area. Cost estimate: $5.6 million. After CRDA’s grant, the city owes $4.8 million or a debt increase of 2.1 cents.
Scheme five uses the same footprint as scenario four but adds a second floor creating a total of 35,365 feet of space. The design would include space for up to six retails shops and conference meeting rooms on the first floor. The second floor would accommodate a hall of 11,000 square feet.
Cost estimate: $10.2 million. After CRDA, $8.4 million, or a 3.9-cent debt increase.
Corea said for every dollar increase, the city must fund 85 cents in debt service. He said operating expenses have not been included in estimates.
Committee members expressed a preference for scenario four, a one-story facility encompassing the Solarium.
Mayor Jerome E. Inderwies said the Solarium was constructed with excellent building materials and there was no need to demolishment it due to its condition.
Carroll expressed reservations about losing Tisha’s Restaurant, located in the Solarium, if it is torn down to make way for a larger convention hall. He said am upscale restaurant could compliment a new convention hall “designed to cater to special events.”
He suggested retail space in a new convention hall that offered a view of the ocean for a restaurant, perhaps on a second floor.
Board member Hillary Pritchard said Cape May was the third most popular wedding destination in the nation and that use should be considered for a new convention hall.
Wyatt noted a restaurant in the historic convention hall went out of business.
Board member Dennis Crowley suggested moving the Solarium to another location along the beachfront. Kimmel said the value of the land under the Solarium far outweighed the value of the building.
City Engineer Marc DeBlasio, of Remington Vernick, said his firm had submitted a pre-application and hoped to schedule a meeting with the state Department of Environmental Protection to request use of 50-feet of beach for a new hall. He said the earlier version of convention hall was double the side of the current hall.
Pritchard said she liked the one-story, scheme four because it provided “ a lot of bang for the buck for $5 million.” She suggested a deck on the ocean side of the hall for weddings and rocking chairs.
Another entrance should be added to the promenade side of the hall to accommodate senior citizens and handicapped persons who may not want to walk back to the main entrance on the ocean side of the building, said Pritchard.
She also suggested the building include restrooms accessible to beachgoers. DeBlasio said a Small Cities Grant may be available for up to $400,000 to construct handicapped accessible restrooms to be used by beachgoers.
Convention Hall Committee Chairman Skip Loughlin suggested not having roller-skating in a new hall but move that activity to the gymnasiums of Cape May Elementary School or the Franklin Street School. He commended a suggested design of the stage on the Morrow’s Nut House side of the new hall producing a closer view of the stage for the audience.
Loughlin suggested a two-stories on the front of the building to replicate the historic convention hall and to provide administrative office space.
The city’s Revitalization Committee will meet Aug. 15 at 9 a.m. in city hall auditorium.
Contact Fichter at (609) 886-8600 Ext 30 or at: jfichter@cmcherald.com