Assignment
In 1996, the City of Richardson decided to pursue plans for a Community Auditorium that would serve the needs of both public and private users. This plan was not new to the City, for they had studied the feasibility of such a center in two past studies. In 1988, Theatre Projects Consultants was commissioned to perform a market analysis and an arts needs assessment to determine the potential of an arts center in Richardson, as well as to develop a design and operating plan based on their findings.

In 1996, HOK was retained to update the needs of Richardson's arts groups, and to analyze the former Richardson Heights Baptist Church as a potential venue for the arts. HOK recommended that the City look at other facility options available to them, including the joint use of a facility with the University of Texas at Dallas, a renovation of an existing venue (i.e. Richardson High School Auditorium, RIchardson Civic Center), an adaptive re-use of an existing facility (i.e. Richardson Heights Baptist Church), and the design and construction of a new facility.

The team developed the four alternate cases for a Richardson performing arts facility:

Case 1: A Free Standing facility located on an open undeveloped site, either public or private.

Case 2: An Adaptive Reuse of an acquired structure which could house some or all necessary support functions for the center; allowing for only the performance hall to be planned as a new construction project.

Case 3: A facility jointly used through an Institutional Partnership with a college or a high school.

Program Management analyzed each of these four scenarios to evaluate the potential impact of each design case. This scenario design process involved developing construction and operating proformas and use and income patterns of the Auditorium in each of the four cases. The economic analysis of the Auditorium construction revealed that, while there were some benefits associated with each of the four scenarios, the Case 1: Free Standing and Case 2: Adaptive Reuse both carried a significant initial cost premium relative to the other two scenarios.

Two alternatives operating patterns emerged as the operating proformas of centers around the country were reviewed: a passive approach in which the Auditorium acts as a "roadhouse" and is rented out on a first come - first serve basis; or a more active approach in which the operations management acts as the "artistic director" and aggressively markets the center to outside performers. These operating budgets vary considerably due to the Auditorium's sponsorship (universities, foundations), management (non-profit, city departments), and marketing approach. PM recognized through its research that the City's first steps were to define the mission of the facility, identify the "Client", and select an interim managing director to help address the sponsorship, management, and marketing issues.

The use and income patterns of the Auditorium varied dramatically in each of the four scenarios, based on the participation of institutional partners, non-profit groups, and corporate users of the facility. It became clear that the center could attract more promoted events if the facility was not built in conjunction with an institutional partner. The institutional partner would command a greater percentage of facility usage, which would not be profitable to the City. The stand alone and private partnership cases allowed for maximum income to be captured due to the greater accommodation of corporate users.