The renovation of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center began last week with the replacement of 200 broken seats. The work started on the heels of the Dec. 5 transfer of ownership of the 33-year-old arena from the city of Providence to the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority for $28.5 million.
The Authority issued $33 million in revenue bonds Dec. 5 to raise money for the purchase of the Dunk and for working capital to pay for the renovation designs. The General Assembly has authorized the agency to issue up to $92.5 million in revenue bonds to buy and upgrade the arena, a process that is expected to take three years.
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Major renovations are tentatively planned to begin in June after the Providence Bruins’ hockey season ends, said James P. McCarvill, executive director of the Authority. In addition to the recent seat replacements, he said, minor repairs will be made to the arena’s plumbing and concession stands. “Whatever we can do to improve the function of the facility,” he added.
Under the city’s ownership, the Dunk was losing about $800,000 per year. The Authority predicts that once renovated, however, the arena will bring in enough events and revenue to generate $1.5 million in annual profit.
The Authority’s next order of business is to hire a construction manager for the renovations, McCarvill said. About eight prospective bidders, including Rhode Island-based firms Gilbane Development Company and Dimeo Construction Co., attended a Nov. 29 meeting with agency officials. The deadline for bids was Dec. 7, and the Authority plans to choose the winner when its board of directors meets on Dec. 22.
The board in August hired Minneapolis-based architecture firm Ellerbe Becket, the original designer of the Dunk (initially called the Providence Civic Center), to complete designs and engineering for the renovations. Ellerbe Becket’s preliminary plans call for 198 additional seats, 20 luxury boxes, a digital scoreboard and an enclosed walkway linking the Dunk to the convention center. Plans leave the possibility for the arena to be linked to the adjacent Holiday Inn Providence as well.
The Authority hopes that joining the Dunk to the convention center – which it also controls – will attract more and bigger events to both facilities. Also to that end, the quasi-state agency sold The Westin Providence to The Procaccianti Group in April under terms that the Cranston-based company build 200 additional rooms by summer of 2007.
Though plans are not final, McCarvill predicted that construction in June would begin with site work for the building additions to accommodate a food court and the luxury boxes. The entire project will take place in phases to avoid interfering with the hockey and basketball seasons. Plans are to expand the building from 285,000 square feet to 310,000 square feet.
McCarvill noted that the $62-million project cost includes $48 million for construction, about $4 million in design fees and the balance left in a contingency fund. Costs could rise depending on changes in material prices and the condition of the building, he said, adding that there are many unforeseen factors that can drive up costs in the midst of a
project.
