Remaking Portland's stage for Broadway and ballet
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The Keller Auditorium today (left) and an artist's rendering of a proposed makeover. Photo: Emily Harris/Axios; rendering courtesy of Hennebery Eddy Architects / Stufish Entertainment Architects
Portland's biggest theater, the Keller Auditorium — which hosts traveling Broadway shows, operas and ballets — is facing either a major overhaul or a total replacement, perhaps in a new location.
Why it matters: The Keller is big business, bringing in half the revenue of downtown's five publicly owned theaters. Whether it moves or gets a makeover will impact arts opportunities, public coffers and the future landscape of the city.
Driving the news: On Wednesday, the Portland City Council is scheduled to hear a detailed proposal supporting a complete Keller makeover.
Catch up quick: Five years ago, private business interests around the Keller held a competition for new exterior designs to make it a destination even on nights without performances.
- The winner offered a dramatic new facade connecting the auditorium closely to the playful fountain of the same name across the street.
- After a 2020 city seismic study raised concerns, Portland and the Metro government each contributed $200,000 to combine that exterior design with upgrades to the interior and the building's structure.
Meanwhile, in July, Portland put out a call for concepts envisioning a replacement auditorium elsewhere, to ensure "a comprehensive assessment of options."
- The request said a new building in a different location "would allow continuous operations and may present other opportunities not possible on the current site."
- Eight alternative sites and initial concepts were proposed, which city planners have now narrowed down to five.
- Of those, two are on the west of the river and three on the east side — with the closest part belonging to Portland State University.
Details: The Keller Auditorium still has a few original 1917 walls, despite a near-complete makeover in 1967.
- Owned by Portland and run by Metro, it can seat 3,000 but is out-of-date in terms of accessibility as well as amenities — from bathrooms to restaurants – for performers and audience members alike.
- The city's 2020 structural assessment concluded that the Keller is currently "vulnerable to failure in a number of different seismic scenarios."
What they're saying: Scott Andrews, principal at the commercial real estate brokerage Melvin Mark, co-chairs the group that developed the full Keller renovation plan.
- "I think people will come to Portland just to see that building," Andrews tells Axios.
By the numbers: Keller backers say they can do the renovation for $236 to $267 million, depending on construction time.
- One economic concern is the loss of ticket sales if the Keller were under renovation and not open for shows.
The intrigue: The group promoting the Keller makeover is also dedicated to preserving Portland's iconic series of fountains and walkways.
- The fountains were built during the 1960s "urban renewal" push to revive public spaces but to do that cleared out neighborhoods where residents had little political power.
What's next: The city council is not expected to make any decisions on the future of the Keller this week.
- They plan to whittle the five alternatives at other locations down to two next month and make a final decision in 2024.