The city of Sugar Land's planned Performing Arts Center is gearing up for another milestone. By the end of April, Washington D.C.-based architecture firm Martinez & Johnson plans to present final designs for the center to city council.

Design of the PAC, which is expected to begin construction at the corner of Hwy. 59 and University Boulevard this fall, is currently more than 80 percent complete, City Engineer Chris Steubing said.

City staff has been working with ACE Theatrical Group and construction manager Linbeck Group, along with Martinez & Johnson and community stakeholders, to bring a unified vision to not only the PAC, but the proposed mixed-use entertainment district surrounding the site.

"Our goal is to create a destination that ties everything together," Steubing said. "When you show up in this region, you will know you're there."

About $83.6 million has been budgeted for the development of the PAC, which includes an estimated $76.8 million in construction costs. The project is being funded through a package of special funding sources. ACE is making a $10-million equity contribution, and a portion of sales tax and hotel occupancy tax revenues reserved for economic development and tourism initiatives has been dedicated to the project as well.

An updated design

Gary Martinez, president and CEO of Martinez & Johnson, first presented the designs for the PAC to Sugar Land City Council last December. In the past six months, the firm has revisited and updated the design with feedback from Linbeck and city engineers.

"It has been a very intensive couple of months," Martinez said. "None of the functionality of this [center] has been lost, even though we were able to make it a little smaller. It was really a refinement of the building."

The size of the building was trimmed to reduce the amount of construction materials and to remove a large beam atop the curved glass wall shown in the original design.

"This is where the savings of literally hundreds of tons of steel came in," Martinez said.

Martinez said the primary goal has been to keep the iconic elements of the original design in place—a large curved glass wall encasing a curved bowl that houses the audience chamber and stage. The PAC is being designed with plans for a public plaza adjacent to the structure.

"We have been very cognizant of having this iconic bowl inside this curved glass," he said. "As we see more development in the district, it is going to give us an idea of how everything will fit in place."

Sense of place

At its March 18 meeting, Sugar Land City Council approved a $96,000 contract with Clark Chandon Associates for the conceptual design of the plaza and streetscapes surrounding the PAC site.

Newland Communities, the land developer behind the Telfair community and nearby commercial sites, drafted a proposed design of the area that features multifamily housing, corporate campuses, a hotel and convention center, restaurants and retail, and several parking garages. The preliminary renderings are subject to change, but show Newland's vision of a unified mixed-use development.

"The city has taken a collaborative approach with project stakeholders in the area to ensure that a unified sense of place is created," said Doug Adolph, assistant director of communications for the city of Sugar Land. "It is an expectation that has already been emphasized in the establishment of streetscapes connecting the Performing Arts Center plaza and surrounding areas."

This unified concept can be seen at Sugar Land Town Square, Adolph said, where a similar effort has become a benchmark for the city.

"It is an example of how developments with a unified sense of place strengthen the local economy through job creation, tourism and entertainment sales tax," he said.

Monitoring demand

On April 1, Sugar Land City Council awarded Atlanta-based Strategic Advisory Group an $80,000 contract to conduct a convention/conference center market analysis and feasibility study to help determine the next steps for development within the district.

"We are not using a 'build it and they will come,' mentality," said Regina Morales, director of economic development for the city of Sugar Land. "The answer could be that this is not feasible, or there could be certain aspects the city has to revisit."

Phase 1 of the study, which began April 2 and is expected to take about four months, will determine the market demand in the area and whether an integrated hotel and convention center would be the best development to meet the demand. Other options include a stand alone convention center and adjacent hotels, or the addition of conference centers in existing hotels, Morales said. Another goal of the study's first phase is to determine the future hotel market trends.

"We have several corporations who use regional venues, such as George R. Brown Convention Center, who would like to hold their events here," Morales said. "So our corporations will play a part in this study as well."

Certain incentive packages from the city, such as the one used to attract Noble Energy's NEXT Training Center, require the corporation to guarantee the use of a minimum number of hotel rooms each year.

Phase 2 of the study is scheduled to begin in August if the city decides the development is feasible and necessary. This phase is expected to take about one month and would determine the cost estimates, economic benefits and management of the developments.

Construction of the city's PAC is expected to wrap up fall 2016, and the development of the surrounding district will be determined after Clark Chandon's designs and Strategic Advisory Group's market study are completed.