Biltmore bid runs gauntlet
Apt. building is major stumbling block
"It would buy us maybe a couple of seats," says MTC exec producer Barry Grove, referring to the not-for-profit company's newest venture: the renovation of Broadway's Biltmore Theatre on West 47th Street off 8th Avenue.
On Tuesday, MTC passed a big hurdle toward that goal. The Landmarks Commission of New York City unanimously approved the Biltmore renovation's design by Greg Clawson, of Polshek Partnership Architects, which calls for a reduction of the venue's capacity from 900 to 650 seats. This would give the not-for-profit theater a Broadway presence similar to that of the Roundabout Theater Company's American Airlines Theatre.
The Nederlanders and Stuart F. Lane scuttled their plans last year to renovate and reduce the seating at the Biltmore when they ran into roadblocks from legit unions that refused to give them any concessions for a small Broadway theater.
"We certainly hope to have those appropriate conversations in due course," Grove said of the unions. "We're not there yet."
Grove and Meadow do not expect a final okay on the Biltmore renovation until early September, by which time the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure should be completed, and the city council will take its binding vote on the project.
Major stumbling block is a proposed apartment building that will adjoin the theater on 47th Street and 8th Avenue. Designed to preserve historic theaters, zoning laws would allow its developer, Biltmore 47, to increase the building from 39 stories to 62 stories in exchange for renovation of the theater.
If ever there is a reason for the project going south, those 62 stories are it. As the apartment building/theater renovation proposal passes through community boards and city planning to the city council, negotiations over those extra 23 stories should be fierce. Martin McLaughlin, spokesperson for Biltmore 47 would not comment on the possibility of a compromise floor-wise.
