FOUR MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS ORGANIZATIONS
COMMISSION FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR NEW ARTS CENTER
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Portland, Ore.… Two years of discussions by Portland's major performing arts organizations and community leaders have resulted in the commissioning of a study to determine the feasibility of a new performing arts center that better serves the community.

The "BODS" consortium, made up of Oregon Ballet Theatre (B), Portland Opera (O), Portland Center Stage (D for drama) and the Oregon Symphony (S), announced that a competitive national search has led to the selection of The Keewaydin Group of Minneapolis, Minn., a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in the arts, to lead a team of experts in conducting the feasibility study. The study will evaluate artistic and facility needs, as well as issues surrounding site, costs, funding, management, design, construction and programming for a new arts center.

"Keewaydin has a very respected national reputation for managing complex projects and emerged from the selection process as a clear winner," said Mark Crawford, managing director of Portland Center Stage. "They have assembled a team of the nation's leading experts who have collectively participated in the completion of a number of significant and prestigious arts projects." Keewaydin was among five national project teams that gave presentations in response to the BODS' request for proposals. Representatives from the Association for Portland Progress, the Portland Development Commission, the city of Portland Planning Bureau and City Commissioner Charlie Hales' office joined staff and Board of the four organizations in making the selection. The study is funded by an anonymous donor.

Joining The Keewaydin Group, who will serve as the project manager and oversee real estate analysis and development, are: Cogan Owens Cogan, a Portland-based firm specializing in public involvement, policy planning, intergovernmental relations and consensus-building for public and private clients; David Hawkanson, a 30-year arts management consultant and former managing director of Minnesota's Guthrie Theatre; Fisher Dachs Associates, specialists in theatre planning and design; Donnell Consultants, Inc., veterans in the field of arts facility costs and construction; Campbell & Company, experts in philanthropic market studies and fundraising analysis; and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, a respected Portland architecture firm to identify planning issues regarding site selection and land acquisition.

"Each of Portland's major performing arts groups, including the Symphony, has enjoyed significant artistic growth and acclaim in the last 10 years," said Tony Woodcock, president of the Oregon Symphony. "Each of us now stands on the threshold of going to the next level as truly international companies. This study will help us define our potential for future growth and the facilities needed to fulfill our individual and collective artistic vision."

Project team members

The Keewaydin Group
Project Manager, Financial Analysis, Real Estate Development, Project Management

Peter Kitchak, President. Mr. Kitchak brings a wide variety of experience to this project. An attorney and partner with a large law firm for 15 years prior to starting Keewaydin in 1983, Peter also has developed major real estate projects for his own account. He is the chief strategist and project leader of the new Guthrie on the River in Minneapolis where he participated in the strategic planning process, negotiated the land deal with the city, participated in the architectural selection process, and negotiated all of the major contracts.

Michael Gross, Senior Project Manager. Mr. Gross brings a wealth of experience in design and construction of theater projects including the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, New York; the Oriental Theater, Chicago; and the Pantages Place Theater in Toronto. In the Guthrie project, he is responsible for managing the development and construction schedule, monitoring the project budget, and integrating the efforts of all members of the design, construction and consultant teams.

Kathy Ehrmann, Principal. Ms. Ehrmann manages Keewaydin consulting projects involving strategic real estate planning, including assessing risks and opportunities on major real estate decisions and complicated financial analysis of complex transactions. She's known as a persistent questioner who develops a deep understanding of each organization's goals and sensitivities, and tailors a project approach uniquely suited to their needs.

David Hawkanson
Performing Arts Modeling, Operational Issues

David Hawkanson brings to the team more than 30 years of experience in the field of arts organization management, both from a direct and a consulting perspective. His reputation for establishing profitable operations was proven most recently with his leadership at the Guthrie Theater, where he retired an annual operating deficit of $1.8 million and built an operating reserve of $2.3 million, increasing the annual operating budget from $10.5 - $18 million. As the Program Consultant to the National Stabilization Fund, he was contracted to survey the field and made recommendations to the President of the Fund with regard to new programs and initiatives that could assist the leaders of arts institutions in preparing for a changing and more competitive environment. The results of the survey were the initiation of a national arts executive education program which has been successfully in existence for five years.

Fisher Dachs Associates
Project Programming, Performing Arts Design

Joshua Dachs, Principal. Trained both as an architect and as a theatrical lighting designer, Mr. Dachs heads PDA's consulting practice and provides strategic planning, space programming and design leadership to its performing arts clients. In 20 years of practice he has helped plan and design hundreds of successful performing arts buildings, including many world-class facilities throughout North America. Key projects have been the planning and design of the new Hobby Center in Houston and the renovations to Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Donnell Consultants, Inc.
Project and Construction Cost Analysis

Stewart A. Donnell, President. With 30 years experience in the North American construction market in both contracting and professional practices, Mr. Donnell has been instrumental in advancing cost control techniques in the USA and Canada for governmental, institutional and private sector clients. His experience has focused on the performing arts field and, for the past 15 years, has been virtually exclusive on theatres, concert halls and multipurpose halls.

Campbell & Company
Philanthropic Market Studies - Fundraising Analysis

Edith H. Falk, Co-President. A founding member of Campbell & Company, Ms. Falk's career spans more than 30 years in institutional advancement. She is responsible for designing and directing fund raising, marketing and communications programs for a broad spectrum of organizations in the arts, education, health care, conservation and human service fields. Current and recent clients include the Guthrie Theater, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, and The Nature Conservancy.

Cogan Owens Cogan
Political Advocacy, Community Issues

Arnold Cogan, Principal. A managing partner of Cogan Owens Cogan, Mr. Cogan has established a reputation in the fields of public involvement, policy planning, intergovernmental relations, and consensus-building for public and private clients during his 35-year career. He was Oregon's first state planning coordinator under Governor Tom McCall and later Oregon's first director of the Department of Land Conservation and Development.

Elaine Cogan, Principal. Ms. Cogan, a partner in Cogan Owens Cogan, trains staffs of public agencies and private businesses in oral and written communications, writes a column for the national publication Planning Commissioner's Journal, and is a political commentator for Northwest Cable News in Seattle. She has held several public appointive positions including chair of the Portland Development Commission, vice chair of the advisory committee to the Oregon Department of Transportation and vice chair of the review committee for the Portland Waterfront Plan, among others.

ZGF Partnership
Urban Planning and Infrastructure Issues

Gregory S. Baldwin, Partner. With more than 30 years of experience as an architect, urban designer and planner, Mr. Baldwin's expertise is in providing continuity from the project's vision to its execution. He has directed the planning, design and development of projects for both public and private clients in Portland and other major cities including Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Boston and Los Angeles. Part of the design concept behind many of his projects has been the development and redevelopment of communities.

Patrick C. Tillett, Principal. Mr. Tillett was appointed ZGF's Director of Planning and Urban Design in 1984. Since that time he has been responsible for most of the firm's major planning and urban design projects, including master plans for cultural projects, college and university campuses, research and business campuses, commercial districts and downtown waterfronts.