Совет мэра Вирджиния-Бич утвердит рекомендации по редевелопменту здания бывшей галереи современного искусства

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... VIRGINIA BEACH — City Council will incorporate an advisory group’s guidelines into a new round of solicitation for the reuse of the vacant, former Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art site near the convention center. A mayor’s advisory panel met several times over the summer to learn about the city-owned property, consider its opportunities and constraints, listen to the community and develop recommended guidelines for its future, Emily Labows, the city’s cultural affairs director, told the council on Tuesday. The seven-member panel was not asked to select an operator or recommend a specific use for the building. The City Council agreed Tuesday to issue a formal request for proposals to soon lease or buy the property, which is located at 2000 Parks Ave. and assessed at $7 million. As part of the panel’s information gathering process, the city hosted a community listening session in July at the site, and 162 people attended. “The purpose was to provide the panel with a meaningful snapshot of community priorities, interests and concerns to consider as it developed its principles,” Labows said. Several themes emerged including a strong interest in maintaining the property’s arts, culture and creativity identity; creating an active, multiuse destination available to the public year-round; connecting to the ViBe Creative District; and providing youth opportunities within the existing building. The panel worked those themes into its recommendations. Limitations on the 9 acres of land and the 38,000-square-foot building were also considered. Under its current zoning as a preservation area, uses including residential, commercial, lodging or office are not allowed. It also sits in a high noise area from Naval Air Station Oceana, further restricting the site. The museum, known as MOCA, announced plans to move in 2023, and relocated to a new building on the Batten University (formerly Virginia Wesleyan) campus in April. After receiving two unsolicited proposals for the site last year, the city issued a formal request for ideas. Nine responses came in. They included a wide range of cultural art concepts from local entities, with many focused on community classes and special events that could be accommodated in the building’s large atrium or 268-seat auditorium. But none of the proposals addressed a key concern: covering the financial costs of keeping the 37-year-old building up and running. Windows and doors need repair, and annual routine maintenance and utility costs for the property are approximately $250,000, according to the city. The panel recommended that any new user will need to foot that bill. “The goal is a financially sustainable operating model that, at a minimum, breaks even and does not require an ongoing city subsidy,” Labows said. Councilman Worth Remick, who represents the district where the building is located, said he has some concerns about applicants achieving everything the panel would like to see take shape. “To remain in the arts, remain tourist-related, to remain community oriented and financially and operationally sustainable — those are high bars to meet,” Remick said. The council agreed that the panel’s guidelines will not be required, only recommended, in order to fill the space soon. “It’s a shame for a building as beautiful as that to sit vacant,” Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson said. “I’d really like to see it revitalized and reused.” Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]