Big Confluence Project report ready to drop

Tom Giffey |

Image courtesy of SDS Architects
Image courtesy of SDS Architects

A year has gone by since it was announced, so what’s the deal with the Confluence Project? Remember, the multimillion-dollar performing arts center/student housing/commercial facility that was proposed for the coveted spot where the rivers meet in downtown Eau Claire? Well, a big part of that question will be answered Wednesday (May 15) when a long-awaited report about the Confluence Project’s financial viability will be unveiled exactly one year after the original announcement.

The report, prepared by Ames, Iowa-based VenuWorks, is expected to tally the anticipated expenses and revenues of the proposed facility. The document – originally expected last fall – was commissioned by the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center and Haymarket Concepts, two of the primary partners in the project, the other major player being UW-Eau Claire. (Haymarket, in turn, is a partnership among Commonweal Development Corp., Market & Johnson, and Blugold Real Estate, a subsidiary of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation. Got all that?)

In a presentation to the Eau Claire City Council Monday evening, Commonweal Development partner Dan Clumpner acknowledged that the road toward actually building the Confluence Project has been circuitous. A year ago the project sounded “awfully simple,” he said ...In a presentation to the Eau Claire City Council Monday evening, Commonweal Development partner Dan Clumpner acknowledged that the road toward actually building the Confluence Project has been circuitous. A year ago the project sounded “awfully simple,” he said, but it has become more complex as the partners grapple with funding issues (money will come from the state, city, county, private developers, and donors) as well as management questions (because of the project’s unique nature, it will require a unique governance structure).

Clumpner’s update did include a few details that likely will be in the forthcoming report. For instance, he said, it’s been estimated that the performing arts center would generate an additional $17.5 million in sales taxes for the state over 10 years, a figure that approaches the $20-plus million the state would spend on its share of the 150,000-square-foot arts center’s $50 million cost.

In addition, Clumpner noted that the housing portion of the project would have room for 300 residents, instead of the 375 previously considered. Developers plan to spend $20 million on that facility, which would include apartment-style dorm rooms in the upper floors and retail/commercial space below. Originally, the mixed-use facility was projected to cost $30 million, with only $3 million to $4 million coming from private sources and the rest from the state via the UW System. However, last week Haymarket announced that the facility would be entirely privately funded. However, it will still be aimed at students and will still include space for visiting faculty or artists in residence.

“This change to private (development) doesn’t compromise the living/learning environment,” Clumpner said.

Because the building will be privately funded, the underground parking it will include will be for private, not public, use, Clumpner added.

Council member peppered Clumpner with questions after his presentation. Councilman Dave Strobel asked if the two parts of the project – the arts center and the mixed dormitory/commercial building – were contingent on each other. Clumpner replied that they are still tied together: While the mixed use facility may be built first, before they build it developers will need assurances that the performing arts center is in the pipeline.

Councilman Dave Duax inquired about charitable fundraising for the project. Kimera Way, executive director of the UWEC Foundation, said her organization has a goal of raising $10 million to $12 million from private donors, and that it has received conditional commitments of $3.5 million already even though it slowed its fundraising timetable while waiting for the VenuWorks study to be released.

And Councilman Bob Von Haden asked what the timeline is for getting state funding for the arts center portion of the project. Mike Rindo, UWEC assistant chancellor for facilities and university relations, said the university still plans to seek the funds in the 2015-17 state budget. He noted that last October the UW System Board of Regents passed a resolution supporting the project in concept (it said it would kick in as much as $25 million if the right conditions were met). In addition, Rindo said that local officials had been meeting with representatives of the state Department of Administration, including department Secretary Mike Huebsch, a top aide to Gov. Scott Walker, who visited the proposed Confluence site recently.

Full details of the VenuWorks report are coming Wednesday, so keep an eye on VolumeOne.org for update.