Executive Summary

Covering sixteen and a half acres on New York’s west side, Lincoln Center is home to the largest performing arts center in the world. It’s signature “campus”, which stretches from Broadway to Amsterdam Avenue and from 62nd Street to 66th St, is home to twelve resident organizations, of which several entail separate constituents. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. “oversees facilities and public spaces that comprise the Lincoln Center campus and provides a wide range of operational and programmatic support for eleven other organizations” (Economic Report) Founded in 1956, it has become a bedrock of the New York City tourism industry, welcoming close to 5 million visitors annually. Moreover, it is renowned throughout the world for its commitment to artistic integrity, value, and education. In efforts to modernize their campus, Lincoln Center, Inc. (henceforth to be called Lincoln Center) developed an ambitious ten-year project of revitalization and renovation, to be completed in two separate phases, the 65th Street Redevelopment Project and the Promenade Project. Due to the close- knit and holistic nature of the campus, each organization would be affected in a myriad of ways, incurring construction costs, scheduling problems, and accessibility issues. Engaging with and informing each of these separate stakeholders throughout the project life cycle would be a vital part of the project management plan, and key to obtaining total project success.

Covering sixteen and a half acres on New York’s west side, Lincoln Center is home to the largest performing arts center in the world. It’s signature “campus”, which stretches from Broadway to Amsterdam Avenue and from 62nd Street to 66th St, is home to twelve resident organizations, of which several entail separate constituents. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. “oversees facilities and public spaces that comprise the Lincoln Center campus and provides a wide range of operational and programmatic support for eleven other organizations” (Economic Report) Founded in 1956, it has become a bedrock of the New York City tourism industry, welcoming close to 5 million visitors annually. Moreover, it is renowned throughout the world for its commitment to artistic integrity, value, and education. In efforts to modernize their campus, Lincoln Center, Inc. (henceforth to be called Lincoln Center) developed an ambitious ten-year project of revitalization and renovation, to be completed in two separate phases, the 65th Street Redevelopment Project and the Promenade Project. Due to the close- knit and holistic nature of the campus, each organization would be affected in a myriad of ways, incurring construction costs, scheduling problems, and accessibility issues. Engaging with and informing each of these separate stakeholders throughout the project life cycle would be a vital part of the project management plan, and key to obtaining total project success.

 

The economic impact that Lincoln Center contributes to New York City is substantial. Per an extensive Economic Report conducted in 2004 during the lengthy Ideation Phase of the Redevelopment Project, the Total Economic Impact follows:  $1.3 Billion in sales at New York City firms, 10,200 jobs, and $410 million in earnings for New York City residents. (Economic Report) A later report in 2016 using different methodologies have significantly higher numbers for all three areas. Regardless, the arts complex is a tourist magnet in a city full of them, and therefore also can claim to provide considerable earnings for the hotel, retail, and restaurant sectors that populate the surrounding areas. The 2004 Report also estimated that the effects of the Redevelopment Project would be an additional $1.1 Billion in total economic activity and the creation of 8,500 construction jobs. (Economic Report)

 

The early stages of planning for the proposed 10-year development had a remarkable amount of bad press stemming from “chilly relations among the resident companies” and “entrenched personality conflicts”. Notably, the Metropolitan Opera and the City Opera held different visions of what the Project should entail. Indeed, the Met would leave the Project early on, throwing it into disarray, before coming back on board with different language written into the agreement. (Pogrebin 2004) Further, two separate Chairmen left the project due to infighting and concerns over bad management practices-of the initial 25 million investment, 10 million was spent on planning alone. (Pogrebin June 19th, 2003) With such a “diverse and separate” group of resident organizations, it is not surprising that it took 5 years of negotiations and conflict resolution to finally achieve a unanimous vote to move the project forward. (Pogrebin 2004) Yet, in 2004, that vote materialized and Phase 1 of the project, the 65th Street Redevelopment, officially broke ground on March 20, 2006.

 

Regarding Stakeholder Management, the Redevelopment Project was a potential minefield for a Project Manager due to the number of stakeholders who fell into the Manage Closely section in the Power/Interest Matrix. Lincoln Center is comprised of 12 separate resident organizations. These include the two opera companies mentioned earlier, Lincoln Center Theatre, Juilliard School, New York Philharmonic, and the Film Society of New York, among others. Most constituents have their own real estate on the campus; others share a space, such as the City Opera and NYC Ballet co-performing at the David H. Koch Theatre. Some, such as Alice Tully Hall and David Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher Hall) are home to not only resident organizations, but a large amount of programmed material meant to satisfy members and subscribers. Adding to the complexity of Lincoln Center is the multitude of popular outdoor spaces such as Damrosch Park (which also holds performances), the North Plaza, and the Josie Robertson Plaza with its iconic central fountain. These spaces are all shared by the resident organizations, and thus each had a stake in their appearance and maintenance. The other large contingent of stakeholders included the public who would attend performances and enjoy the campuses new amenities and enhanced aesthetic. Indeed, one of the main goals of the renovation was to “open up the campus to encourage the interaction of artists, students, and the public” (Business Wire) Lastly, the City of New York itself, who benefitted financially from Lincoln Centers operations, and the multiple funding sources, including state and federal backing, donors, and benefactors all had an enormous stake in the Project’s success.

 

The first phase, the 65th Redevelopment Project, sought to renovate Alice Tully Hall, expand Juilliard School, and transform the North Plaza. (AECOM) The lead architect was Diller Scofidio + Renfro in association with FXFOWLE Architects. While all organizations would be affected by this phase, the main pieces included Alice Tully Hall, Juilliard, the Film Society of New York, and Lincoln Center Theatre. It fell to the Project Management Team to facilitate every step of the ambitious project and communicate with those constituents affected. This included the student and teaching bodies of the prestigious Juilliard School. While the creation of a new black box theatre, orchestral rehearsal studios, new dance studio, and an expansion of the library would bring benefits to the school, the fact remained that throughout the course of construction, life at the school would be upended. Communicating the timeframe and progress, as well as highlighting the expectations of an improved HVAC system and Life Safety systems(ARUP)would help offset any frustration felt by the student and teaching bodies.

 

Alice Tully Hall, on the high-traffic intersection of 65th and Broadway, would be the focal point of the renovation. The interior would include new HVAC systems and noise-reduction measures/materials, which would satisfy the resident occupant, the Chamber Music Society of New York, as well as external stakeholders: various ensembles and orchestras across the country who played high profile performances there.  The exterior’s improvements included a new café and public plaza, new façade, outdoor seating, and a public amphitheater. (ARUP) It was agreed that, unlike Juilliard, Alice Tully would be closed for one full season, resulting in net financial losses. This made it imperative that Cost management and Schedule management be kept on track to both not induce further losses and to be ready for a planned two-week re-opening gala. Constant communication with the affected constituents regarding both these domains would alleviate any growing or lingering concerns. This rigid timeline and extensive renovation put pressure on the construction company, Turner Construction, and its fleet of workers. These workers and their respective unions were another important stakeholder for the Project Manager to engage with; working conditions and expectations were all necessary to keep watch over.

The third internal stakeholder was the Film Society of New York, whose Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center was being constructed on 65th Street. Housing several individual theatres, the Center would be the focal point for film showings and studies in a Complex featuring much devoted space to live performances. Assuring a high quality of construction would not only benefit Lincoln Center and its other organizations, but would provide a site for film-lovers to connect as well.  Lastly, the North Plaza would be completely renovated, and include a flagship restaurant, Lincoln, with its eco-conscious sloped green-roof and the updated Paul Milstein Pool. In a prime example of the holistic nature of the campus, Lincoln Center Theatre’s Vivian Beaumont would not be physically affected yet would simultaneously be greatly burdened by the ongoing construction and greatly benefit from the enhanced environment and new restaurant. Monitoring stakeholder’s satisfaction during this section of the Project would be challenging, as construction affected no less than five resident organizations. The Project manager would also need to monitor other organizations satisfaction as alternating foot traffic patterns and construction costs would affect them as well.  For instance, Avery Fisher Hall would not be worked on during the two Phases of the Project, but would still deal with construction impacts as well as bear the burden of construction costs as each constituent was a financial contributor, and therefore would need to be monitored closely.

 

Phase II of the Redevelopment was known as the Promenade Project and included renovation of Josie Robertson Plaza’s Revson Fountain, iconic travertine marble facades, and improvements to concourse spaces between venues and connections to nearby subway lines. (AECOM) The Project needs were high across all Lincoln Center constituents, as the Plaza welcomed guests from around the world, and a revived environment aimed to maintain that interest. During renovations, which aspired to refresh an almost 50-year old complex, the three tent-pole buildings and their resident organizations would be most affected as they were prominently situated around the plaza. (Archive Today) Extensive planning and engagement would need to occur between these organizations specifically so construction did not disrupt programming. Furthermore, because “construction of the project (was) integrated into the 65th Street Project” (Business Wire), the Project Manager had to actively coordinate and communicate amongst the various architects, builders, and organizations across many different domains. For both Projects, an enormous amount of resources needed to be acquired, including SME’s in acoustics, green construction, and transportation. Lastly, in a sub-phase of the Promenade Project, the David Rubenstein Atrium would be built to serve as an easily accessible and technologically upgraded visitor and ticketing center for all Lincoln Center constituents.

 

The last major piece of the puzzle for a Project Manager were the financial stakeholders. In addition to each of Lincoln Center’s resident organizations contributions, the Project secured Federal, State, and City funding.  Also, at time of groundbreaking, 50 million was given in endowments, with most remaining costs in the form of gifts from donors, corporations, and foundations. (Business Wire) A vital part of the Stakeholder Management Plan, thus, was keeping these entities informed of each step of the Project, and working within the budget established in the Cost Management Plan.

 

Identifying stakeholders was an extremely important process. External stakeholders included visitors, unions, suppliers, the MTA, environmentalists, traffic planners, pedestrians, vendors, film distributors, and others. Internally, apart from Lincoln Center itself, a small sample included geotechnical engineers, landscape architects, security, graphic designers, and the large number of construction workers involved. Given that the Project held many different components, keeping each stakeholder abreast of changes, issues, and solutions was a labyrinthine process. In addition, the spotlight on the renovations progress was closely followed by the media, thus adding one more entity to the crowded Stakeholder Registry. Keeping the media abreast of issues and milestones was very important for the morale of the project, as well as maintaining the public image of Lincoln Center itself. While the renovations of tunnels leading to transit systems would not physically affect the Met or Lincoln Center Theatre, per se, these organizations would benefit from improved access and visitor satisfaction. The main challenge in the Stakeholder Management Plan then was in communicating these benefits to all constituents and consistent reminders of the holistic nature of not only the Project, but of Lincoln Center itself. Not showing intrinsic bias towards any organization was also important. Further, a strong outreach program to inform the general-public of changes and improvements would be needed to continue to attract visitors. Indeed, “trendsetters in the under-35 crowd-a segment all art institutions are clamoring to attract-seem to approve of the (..) changes at Lincoln Center” (Souccar)

 

Today, the Redevelopment Project of Lincoln Center is viewed as an enormous success and model for other arts-related revitalization projects: it is “looking livelier, smarter, hipper, and more inviting-it is a change that should be studied…by anyone who cares about the peculiar freedoms of urban life. (Kennicott) Lincoln Center remains a bastion of New York’s essential arts scene, and moreover, the campus is a popular attraction for arts-lovers and architecture-lovers alike. Within any Project, there are bound to be issues regarding Stakeholder satisfaction; yet, as Lincoln Center continues to welcome close to 5 million visitors annually, with all resident organizations thriving on campus, the management of stakeholders in the Redevelopment Project was integral to Total Project Success.  The Project Management team’s ability to identify needs of each constituent and stakeholder and keep each satisfied through two separate Phases and a six-year timeframe was the linchpin in the successful revitalization of Lincoln Center.

 

Biography

Christian Delcroix, Graduate Student at Montclair State University in the MS-Sustainability Science program

Christian is a professional actor, having worked in and around New York City for 17 years. He graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Florida State University. He lives in Bloomfield, NJ with his wife and two kids.

 

References:

Archive Today. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.aboutlincolncenter.org/about/history/archive-today

Business Wire (2006, June 12) Lincoln Center Announces Significant Redevelopment Progress: Lead Gift Fundraising for Inaugural Project Ahead of Schedule With Three Quarters of Goal Raised.

Economic Development Research Group (2004, October) The Economic Role & Impact of Lincoln Center. Retrieved from https://www.americansforthearts.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2015/by_topic/culture_communities/FAQ/Lincoln_Center_Economic_Study_2004.pdf

Expansion and renovation of music school and related spaces. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.arup.com/projects/lincoln-center

 Kellow, B. (2002) Lincoln Center’s redevelopment plan heats up New York; Rudel hears things differently. Opera News, 66(10), 8

Kennicott, P. (2010, Dec. 29). Kennedy Center and others should take note of Lincoln Center redesign. The Washington Post.

Lincoln Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://aecom.com/projects/lincoln-center/

Pogrebin, R. (2003, June 13). Lincoln Center Loses Official Who Oversaw Development. The New York Times

 Pogrebin, R. (2003, June 19). Costs and Approach Disputed in Lincoln Center Redevelopment. The New York Times

Pogrebin, R. (2004, April 1) A Major Step Forward for Lincoln Center Plan. The New York Times

Souccar, M. K. (2005) Lincoln Center sets scene for face-lift. Crain’s New York Business, 21(46), 1.