Santa Maria should begin the process of seriously planning for a 600-seat performing arts and conference center, City Council members were advised last week. 

During the Dec. 19 meeting, council members learned the findings of a feasibility study funded by the city earlier this year.

The report was informational with the study designed to assess whether the community’s size and market could support a performing arts center, and if there’s a path to make it happen.

“Tonight what we’re here to share is we do believe that there is adequate market demand,” said Glenn Morris, president and CEO of the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau.

“We believe the arts community is growing in this valley and they would benefit from a permanent home, if you will.”

He called the center a place where the arts could be showcased and elevated, as well as a location for professional meetings and cultural activities. 

“Yes, we believe it’s time for the community to begin the process of seriously planning for a performance arts and convention center,” Morris told the council.

In February, the council approved $94,250 for the chamber to hire a contractor to conduct the study on the feasibility of creating a performing arts and conference center.

A team made up of AEA Consulting and Rios spearheaded the study, which suggested focusing on the performing arts center and looking toward adding the convention center later.

Four potential homes for a new performing center included the old movie theater on Bradley Road, Town Center West, the old library site and the soon-to-be-vacated Department of Motor Vehicles site on McClelland Street.

They picked Town Center West — on West Cook Street between South Broadway and South Pine Street — as the best option after considering a number of factors, including size, parking, access to public transportation and walkability.

“Also, it’s the middle of town and has the ability to create sort of an iconic town square for the center of Santa Maria, which we think is really important,” said Chris Skeens, a senior project designer with Rios.

Town Center West has ample parking in the area for the maximum 630 spaces that likely would be needed.

Key user groups included seated ticketed cultural events such as symphony concerts, dance, theater, conferences or community events, such as weddings, with an eye toward accommodating both professional and local users.

The proposal would include a concert venue space that could be tweaked for concerts, banquets or lectures. Other areas would contain conference rooms and an outdoor plaza for events.

A 600-seat venue would ramp up to 100 to 150 events during the first five years of operation. The total audience would grow from 58,000 in the first year to 89,000 by the fifth.

It wouldn’t be cheap. Estimates place a price tag of $58 million to $73 million on the project.

Additionally, despite earning revenue, the consultants estimated the center would have an annual deficit of $237,500, a gap that could be closed with public funds or private donations from individuals and corporations.

A next step in the process, Morris suggested, would be to work with the city and private organizations to form a group such as the “Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Performing Arts Center, to flesh out details and identify funding sources.”

“We really think this is the beginning of a much deeper and much more detailed conversation that needs a team of people within our community who are tasked and who are passionate about seeing this come to fruition,” he said.

The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society expressed the need for a performance venue in the Santa Maria area, and formed a committee to explore development before joining forces with the Santa Maria Valley chamber.

“I would be very much in favor of seeing something like this come to fruition,” Councilman Mike Cordero said.

“We really need to do this to compete with our neighboring communities and give ourselves a standing in that market, in that venue, so I really look forward to seeing some of the unanswered questions come with some answers,” he added.

Lynne Garrett from the Philharmonic Society noted that the lack of large venue limits performances and restricts the organization’s growth.

“I think it’s really been shorting the audience in Santa Maria that they can’t enjoy these fabulous concerts of massive orchestra sounds with eight horns and five trumpets and a huge string ensemble because there’s nowhere where that space is provided,” she said.

“I think it’s a shame that the community has not had the opportunity to hear these works.”

More than a decade ago, a similar study suggested it wasn’t the right time to pursue a performing arts and conference center.

“While tonight’s recommendation is not for a specific configuration or specific design or specific location, I think the important thing is to understand the need and respect the fact that need is growing,” said Victoria Conner from the Economic Alliance Foundation, or EconAlliance.