Architectural rendering of Covention Hall interior

CAPE MAY — A generation gap may be the undoing of plans to pass a voter referendum Nov. 4 to build a new convention hall here.
At an Aug. 14 town meeting, a number of Cape May residents over the age of 65 were adamant about the new hall looking like a hall built here in 1917.

The city’s baby boom generation seemed to favor a more modern design with a larger seating capacity.

Resident James Wyatt asked the exterior design of the building revert to the 1917 design.

“Remember this is Cape May, let’s keep it the way it is,” he said.

Resident Lydia Inderwies suggested recreating the center arch appearance of the 1917 hall with the modern interior design that includes the glass wall facing the ocean.

“I haven’t seen anything come up there that looks like the old facade of the original one from 1917,” said former mayor Bob Elwell.

Innkeeper Archie Kirk said that Kimmel's latest facade design doesn’t look like the old hall but he felt more comfortable with the design.
“I think people are going to have to bend a little,” he said. “Everybody is not going to get what they think it should be like.”

Sal Riggi, a board member of the Cape May Jazz Festival said he would recommend to the board that the festival relocate out of Cape May if a new Convention Hall is built with 800 seats rather than 1,200 seats in the most recent design. He said the festival brings $3 million in revenue to Cape May each year.

Resident Theresa Henry recommended a new hall include space to serve the city’s busy wedding industry. She said only two hotels in the city could accommodate a wedding party of over 150 people.

Resident Dawn DeMayo endorsed the latest exterior design and the outdoor stage on the beach.

Resident Jean Powick, who led a petition drive that caused council to rescind a $10.5 million bond to finance a new Convention Hall, suggested the city renovate the current hall or replace it with a modest building and purchase the Beach Theatre located across Beach Avenue. She projected the 12 retail stores that are part of the Beach Theatre complex, would generate $495,000 per year.

Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. confirmed the purchase price of the Beach Theatre was $12 million although it was assessed at $3.5 million.

Mahaney told the audience the state Department of Community Affairs has granted a waiver for the need for a 5 percent down payment on a bond to finance construction of a new Convention Hall. When a $10.5 million bond ordinance to build a new hall was rescinded by council last month, the mayor was concerned DCA would not grant another waiver if voters approve a new bond on Nov. 4.

Mahaney said two marine engineering firms will look at Convention Hall and prepare a proposal for inspecting the structure and determine how much it would cost to make the building structurally sound and how long the hall would last after repairs.

If it is not salvageable as an operating hall, it would also be determined if there is any portion of the foundation that could be saved to defray some costs of building a new hall, he said.
Those proposals would then be submitted to City Council.

Architect Martin Kimmel offered a comparison of the 1917 hall, the current hall and the proposed hall. He said he believed the 1917 hall was 35,000 square feet, and about 40 feet tall, the current hall is 12, 240 feet and 27 feet tall and the proposed hall would be 30,240 square feet or 34 feet tall.

In order to provide the old style facade, the hall would have to revert to an earlier design which would not offer the wall of glass towards the ocean and sacrifice storage and other operational space, said Kimmel.

“We’ll ultimately do whatever you ask us to do,” he said.

Following the requests of groups that would use the new hall such as the Cape May Jazz Festival and Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts, Kimmel had increased the size of the performing arts space from 8,000 square foot to 11,000 square feet without increasing the total building size.

Council also requested to see a design of a smaller hall for less money. Kimmel showed an earlier design for $8.6 million, two-story facility that would have roughly the same footprint as the current hall. He said the hall could be oriented to the water if the entrance was located towards the beach.
The lobby would be small and the backstage area no better than current cramped conditions, said Kimmel.

For $6.5 million, the city could have a one story Convention Hall with an 8,000 square foot performing area with no community rooms.

Kimmel’s latest exterior design “softened up” the design with slightly less glass and more emphasis on the arches that were present in the 1917 building.
He also presented a computer simulation of the performance area of the proposed hall.

Interim city Manager Bruce MacLeod presented the pluses and minuses of building the hall on sites other than the beachfront: the former Shelton College, Cape May Elementary School, the Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) remediation site on Lafayette Street, southwest of the school and the parking lot of City Hall.

He said the former Shelton College site is owned by a developer who has received approval for 15 home sites. MacLeod said lots in that neighborhood are in the million dollar price range.

The site would offer plenty of room for a parking lot, he said.
The elementary school would also offer room for a parking lot but may not be available for three to four years. It would be dependent on the school closing, said MacLeod.
The property is owned by the board of education.

The JCP&L property includes a city-owned parcel and the former Vance’s Bar site off Lafayette Street. MacLeod said the JCP&L property, the site of a former coal gasification plant, may be tied up in remediation procedures until the year 2020.

Building a Convention Hall next to city hall would involve demolishing the fire station and purchasing Alexander’s Inn for a private owner. MacLeod said the site would offer no parking.

For more details, see Wednesday’s Herald.