Quincy moves forward on theater project

QUINCY - Quincy will spend up to $700,000 to build a new amphitheater in Lauzier Park.

The city council approved the plan following a presentation about the amphitheater at a recent city council meeting. The building is expected to complete the park, which contains soccer fields, basketball courts and toys. The city hired Quincy architect Philip Lust to design the building.

Recreation Director Russ Harrington previously said the city wanted an outdoor venue where the city could have allied arts performances or movies in the park.

The city originally budgeted $300,000 for the project, but after the design was finished and determining what it would cost, the estimated cost increased, City Engineer Ariel Belino said.

"If the city council chooses not to (approve the $700,000 cost), there are other options as far as getting the ground cover and foundation for the system in, some of the infrastructure in place and then trying to build it next year," Maintenance Supervisor Dave Reynolds said. "With our tax revenues being what they are, we feel it would be wise to move ahead."

The preliminary design features a roughly 40-foot by 60-foot stage, Lust said.

"This would be a modest-sized project. It's not small. It's not large like the Gorge," he said. "I'm trying to see on this site, how this site could be used to get a modest-sized amphitheater project on there."

The site is flat, presenting some design problems, Lust said. To solve the problem, the city needs to lower where the stage is about 2 feet. Some of the dirt would be used to raise the seating area.

"The other thing that happened here on this site is ... this distance from the retaining wall to the stage is about 100 feet," he said. "One-hundred feet is a fair area for viewing. It's definitely not small, but it's definitely not large."

The budget estimates are based on the issues with lowering the stage and raising the seating area, he said.

The site will also feature trees to provide a windbreak and shade, Lust said.

"Just to give you an idea of where we started. When we were throwing this together, Russ and I were doing some conceptual drawings. We fed those to Gray and Osborne, our stage was basically a pole building without sides on it," Reynolds said. "Phil has taken that and run with that and he's developed it into a very, I think, aesthetically pleasing and a very functional site."