August 10, 2005
Kennedy Center's Plaza Project Doomed?
An article by Jacqueline Trescott in the Post today brings the wild, wonderful world of construction news into the Style section. The Kennedy Center, where this DCist classical music contributor spends an inordinate amount of time in the evenings, has officially wrapped up the long story of its expansion woes.
Seeing orange traffic cones, temporary fencing, large construction vehicles, and swirling dust as you approached the Kennedy Center, we admit, did tarnish the glamor of an evening at the opera. Then again, studies of patron habits showed that 70% of ticket buyers drive to the Kennedy Center, which is how this problem began. Underground garages were expanded to accommodate more big cars and SUVs from the suburbs, and the front of the building was opened up with a new approach made possible by extending 25th Street NW and adding lots of places to pull up and drop off passengers. The roofs of the expanded garage areas were converted into two outdoor plazas, which can now be used for performances and swanky soirées, incredible views and all.
But that's not even half of the construction woes.
What seemed most interesting about the Post article was its final paragraph, which stated that these improvements were not part of the larger project the Kennedy Center had been trying to get off the ground for years. It had proposed a plaza project, which would reconnect the somewhat marooned center with the surrounding neighborhoods by bridging over the E Street Expressway and I-66, which loop around it. A private foundation gave $100 million in seed money, and the federal government approved a large amount of funding for the rest of the project in 2002. At the time, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), waxed idealistic, saying,
The Kennedy Center Plaza bill received strong bipartisan support from the House of Representatives. It is not only appropriate but also essential that the nation's center for the performing arts and a presidential memorial be as accessible as possible to the people of America.On the basis of the funding that seemed assured, the Kennedy Center selected architect Rafael Viñoly to begin designing the plaza in 2003.
But the plaza wasn't to be.
Today the Post similarly reported on the communal back-slapping among Republicans over the new transportation bill just signed into law. Some in Congress were trying to pass a version of the bill with $400 billion in funds, which President Bush had threatened to veto. What had to be cut to get the bill down to a size the President could accept, $286.4 billion? Well, the Kennedy Center's plaza project for one.
Where did all the money go instead? According to Keith Ashdown, vice president of policy for Taxpayers for Common Sense, in a statement made to the Associated Press, it was fitting that the bill was signed in Dennis Hastert's district "because the speaker's district has the third highest amount of highway pork in the nation," adding that the distribution of the money "is based far more on political clout than on transportation need." So much for the "strong bipartisan support" for the "essential" work at the Kennedy Center, right? We guess Rep. Hastert's ideals aren't worth much. Since the District of Columbia still doesn't have voting representation in Congress, is it any surprise that the city loses out on this one?
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FYI, the Post reported the plaza postponement on August 2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080200232.html
And many of the projects supported by the transit bill face steep opposition or are unlikely to happen at all. In Hastert's district is the Prairie Parkway, which would be a new expressway right through the area in which I grew up. It's been on and off the books for 20 years. And it's never been particularly liked by local groups. I suppose, like the ICC here, that's probably not going to stop it.
Another project in the SF Bay Area, for a ferry boat, doesn't have the support of the governmental body that oversees ferry-transit planning on the Bay, is smack dab in enviromentally sensitive breeding ground for a rare fish/snake/something and isn't likely to get built. It seems it got the backing of a certain Senator from Alaska in whose district ferry boats are made, but probably will never happen.
These are only two that I know about.
The other issue with the Transit Bill is that most of these are matching funds. And won't be paid out by the Federal Gov't unless local authorities pony up cash, which also doesn't seem likely as states are stretched thin paying for BushCo tax cuts and NCLB.
Just FYI, the "private foundation" that gave that $100 million is basically just wealthy donor Catherine Reynolds, and she'll be unlikely to pull back her gift just because the Feds decided not to fund this particular project. The institution itself has done nothing to alienate her (unlike the American History folks a few years ago).
In fact, while the huge plaza project is definitely going to languish, the actual programs at the center may benefit from this decision. Reynolds probably will want to redirect her funding in other ways. With no new buildings or monuments or fountains to be named, it'll be big, flashy programming or long-term educational projects that will get public recognition for her gift.
Thanks for all of the comments, all worthy. Nate, you are probably right that other programs will benefit. It's just a shame that the Kennedy Center is so cut off from the rest of the city as it is. Hopefully, something like the plaza project will happen in the future.