What the proposed Crown Event Center for downtown in front of the courthouse amounted to was a money pit becoming deeper by the day, and it was a growing issue, which at least four Cumberland Board of County Commissioners say they could not turn a blind eye or deaf ear to any longer.
A matter, they say, of exercising fiscal responsibility and addressing other county priorities.
“While the idea of a new facility was exciting,” Commissioner Henry Tyson said Wednesday about his June 4 vote to abandon the $152 million project in favor of modernizing the aging Crown Theatre and Arena off U.S. Business 301, “the reality is that our county faces significant and more immediate needs.”
Among those more pressing county needs, he said, is outdated infrastructure, toxic water concerns, critical public safety investments and a county school system, which requires meaningful and sustained funding.
“These are not optional needs,” the 40-year-old freshman commissioner said. “They are foundational to the health, safety and prosperity of our residents.”
Commissioners Chair Kirk deViere, Marshall Faircloth, Pavan Patel and Jeannette Council voted with Tyson to nix the downtown center. In opposition were Glenn Adams, the former board chair, and Veronica Jones, the board’s current vice chair.
“After conducting a detailed review of all financial information, community input and surveys, board meeting notes and updated studies requested by this board, I found a project with fundamental flaws that we couldn’t adjust, making it something I couldn’t support in its current form,” deViere said Wednesday.
The dollar numbers spoke.
“The facts were clear,” said deViere, 54, who is a former two-term senator in the state legislature. “The community survey of 1,110 residents showed majority support for the Crown Complex location before evaluation criteria were weighted to favor downtown Fayetteville. The previous board’s rushed approval of a $26 million GMP-2 (Guaranteed Maximum Cost) contract amendment within one week of our taking office eliminated any opportunity for value engineering or addressing critical shortfalls. Costs had more than doubled from the original $80 million concept to $178 million total ($145 million facility plus $33 million parking deck), with no mechanism to control further escalation.”
DeViere, Tyson and Patel were elected to the board in November.
“There is no question about it, the downtown project was exciting,” Patel said Tuesday. “I will not hide that casting this vote was a difficult decision to make in either direction. I and fellow board members considered and reconsidered a number of variables. This project had shifted in scope a few times, the budget had increased beyond original consideration and the business case no longer held its original weight conceived a decade ago in a world that operated differently than today’s post-COVID norms and economic realities.”
Along the way
A pause here, if you will, for some background.
County commissioners voted in November of 2022 to build what was described as a performing arts center on the parking lot in front of the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse that borders Gillespie Street, E. Russell Street and Otis F. Jones Parkway, and a groundbreaking was held 23 months later.
“Downtown was the right place,” Glenn Adams, then commissioners’ chair, said of the vote by fellow commissioners Toni Stewart, Jimmy Keefe, Jeannette Council, Larry Lancaster, Charles Evans and Michael Boose. “We believe this will be a transformative project, not only for downtown Fayetteville but for all of Cumberland County as a local and regional asset that is accessible to all and that enhances and elevates our community as a premier destination for entertainment, events and gatherings. Downtown was the right place.”
But it was in January of 2024 when commissioners got the word from Matt DeSilver, a project manager from MBP Carolinas, that the $131.7 million price tag was increasing by $32 million to $163.5 million because of increasing supply and labor costs, and there would be a delay in construction.
“2026 is just not acceptable to me, and I don’t think it’s gonna be acceptable to the board,” Adams told DeSilver. “I don’t know [if] it’s acceptable to this community … I think we were pretty clear when we came into this that we were under a time crunch.”
Keefe was all the more frustrated.
“I’m ready to walk away, I’m so disappointed right now,” he said.
Commissioners later said $145 million to build the center, and not a dollar more.
You cannot help but ask yourself who at the county was monitoring the project all along.
Handwriting on the wall
It was on March 5 when deViere announced that the current board was suspending construction of the Crown Event Center for 30 days and calling for an independent review from Scott Flowers of the Hutchens Law Firm about the project, including a reported $1.9 million in architectural fees. The board later gave the go-ahead for construction to continue until voting 5-2 on June 4 to give up the downtown ghost.
A parking fiasco at the courthouse, even without an event center, Marshall Faircloth said Tuesday. Traffic bottlenecks in an already congested downtown. A proposed parking deck at $33 million, and now projected at $46 million. And the excessive cost of a project vs. renovation of the Crown Theatre and Arena on U.S. Business 301.
“The parking plan was fundamentally flawed, requiring a $33 million deck with no on-site ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) parking solution for the selected layout,” deViere said. “The $33 million parking garage was never properly planned or funded as part of the original project. It was an add-on that would have increased total costs by 25%. There are not any current design plans or obligated funding to build a parking deck.”
The decision to halt the Crown Event Center, Patel said, is a cost-saving decision in parking.
“This will also save the need for building a $33 million-$46 million parking deck behind the courthouse, which was not financially factored into the project, but objectively was necessary,” he said. “At the end of the day, our bandwidth can only go so far from financial to resource capacity.”
Tyson weighed in on the parking issue, too.
“The land in front of the courthouse remains a key asset for downtown, and we see this as an opportunity, not a setback,” he said. “My hope is to pursue a public/private partnership that can transform this space into something dynamic and beneficial for the community. Currently, we have not finalized a plan for the parking garage project behind the courthouse. However, we are actively evaluating how we can best serve the needs of the county and the downtown area in the context of the revised direction we are taking.”
About that $36 million already spent
There are those who believe deViere, Tyson, Faircloth, Patel and Council were insightful to abandon downtown in favor of remodeling the current theatre and arena. Skeptics balk at the decision and believe the five commissioners wasted $36 million already invested in the project.
“Approximately $14 million has been spent to date (2022-2025), and we are conducting a thorough review to determine exactly what can be recovered from the $22 million in encumbered funds,” deViere said. “Here’s the key context: $26 million of these commitments were rushed through by the previous board within just one week of our new board taking office,” which deViere said severely limited the board’s ability to exercise proper oversight or make necessary adjustments.
“The good news is that some of these commitments were made for materials and services that can be redirected or cancelled, and we will pursue every avenue for recovery.
“Additionally, the site preparation work already completed won’t be wasted,” he said. “It will become part of any future development at the downtown Fayetteville location, ensuring that the investment serves the community moving forward.”
Patel, too, understands concerns about the $36 million.
“As with many in our community, I, too, have heavy concerns regarding the money spent and or encumbered by the downtown site,” Patel said. “Yes, unfortunately, some funds are sunk costs, i.e. soft costs related to planning and design. However, there are some costs that will still be assets to the county such as the acquired real property. Hopefully, there are avenues to allow us to recoup portions of the money spent or encumbered.”
Tyson also understands the matter of the $36 million.
“We recognize that money invested in the early stages of the Crown Event Center project is a concern for residents,” he said. “That investment included necessary site preparation, design and assessments. Our staff is currently evaluating all viable options to recover these expenditures, whether through potential reuse of the site, public and or private partnerships or strategic repurposing.
“While some costs are non-recoverable due to the nature of planning and pre-construction work, much of what was done can position us for future opportunities and development.
“Importantly, the overall pivot to enhancing existing venues, combined with the groundwork already laid, still offers a more fiscally sound path forward than continuing with a brand-new construction project,” Tyson said. “Our focus is now on leveraging these assets responsibly for the community’s benefit.”
Epilogue
Kirk deViere says the decision is not about abandoning downtown.
“This was not a vote I took lightly,” he said. “…Moving forward, we are committed to determining appropriate future development opportunities that serve the broader community while providing economic benefits to downtown. This decision doesn’t end a commitment to downtown Fayetteville development. It redirects it toward more responsible and sustainable options.”
Upgrading the Crown Theatre and adjoining arena, Pavan Patel says, is that option.
“Moving forward with modernization at the 301 Complex will save money in construction and programming, build upon an existing ecosystem and create opportunities that will impact our county in a larger capacity,” he said. “As we continue our focus on access to safe drinking water and supporting our public education system, I am sure to continue looking for a strong economic driver for downtown Fayetteville.”
Henry Tyson sees the board decision as prudent judgment and agrees with deViere that it is not about forsaking the downtown.
“By revisiting the potential for renovation of the existing Crown theatre and arena, we can preserve important community assets at a significantly lower cost,” Tyson said. “While the Crown Event Center will no longer be built on that site, we remain committed to supporting arts, entertainment and economic development in the heart of downtown Fayetteville. We envision a vibrant area that continues to serve as a cultural and civic hub for the entire region. Community input and strategic planning will help guide what comes next.”
Now, it’s a matter of what will be the cost of upgrading the Crown Theatre and the Crown Arena.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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