Rehoboth offers Clear Space right of first refusal on senior center land

As a sign of continued interest in the possibility of a public-private partnership, Rehoboth Beach commissioners have agreed to offer Clear Space Theatre Company the right of first refusal on a future lease for the city-owned property on Christian Street that’s currently home to the Cape Henlopen Senior Center.

All this does is gives Clear Space the ability to make the first offer if and when the property becomes available, said City Manager Taylour Tedder during a special meeting Sept. 8. This is a way to signal to Clear Space that the city still has interest in moving forward with the partnership, he said.

The Cape Henlopen Senior Center and Clear Space have been looking for new homes for many years, but both have had trouble moving forward. The senior center has land on Hebron Road, but federal funding that was going to be used to jump-start construction is no longer coming. The theater tried unsuccessfully to build on Rehoboth Avenue, but that was nixed after community pushback.

More recently, the theater has narrowed down its search to two locations – the city-owned senior center lot on Christian Street and an unknown piece of private property within Lewes town limits. A few months ago, the city began working with the theater on creating a term sheet for a public-private partnership.

Joe Gfaller, Clear Space managing director, attended the Sept. 8 special meeting. Looking to add “some sizzle to the steak,” he began his presentation with a whiteboard sketch of what a theater could look like at the Christian Street property. The caveat being, he said, none of the details about zoning or variances required are known at this time.

In addition to the sketch, Gfaller made a short presentation about how having a performing arts theater in the city could act as an economic driver for the city and surrounding businesses. A rough estimate after the theater is built and being used at full capacity, which could take five to six years, suggests the city could realize $689,000 in revenue per year, with an economic impact of $5.4 million to local hotels, restaurants and businesses, he said.

Earlier this summer, commissioners directed Tedder to enter into negotiations related to a term sheet for how the public-private partnership would work. The expectation is to have a term sheet ready for commissioners to review in October, he said.

There were questions by commissioners about unknowingly committing the city to something it would regret in the future, but City Solicitor Lisa Borin Ogden said multiple times that’s not the case. All the details about construction and monetary agreements will be discussed in the public in the future, she said.

At present, this is the only way for the city to show interest in the partnership because there’s a tenant with a lease on the land right now, said Ogden.

Prior to the favorable vote, members of the public in attendance were strongly in favor of the city moving forward with the proposed offer.

Resident Frank Cooper said the citizens of Rehoboth Beach have been loud and clear that they want Clear Space to remain in Rehoboth Beach. This minimal step is a no-brainer, he said.

With a couple of restaurants on Baltimore Avenue, restaurateur Lion Gardner said he’s personally witnessed the positive impact Clear Space has on the surrounding area. There is a concrete benefit, and he can attest to that, he said.

Following the meeting, Gfaller said Clear Space is grateful for the near-unanimous signal from the board of commissioners in support of Clear Space leasing 11 Christian St. after the senior center relocates.

“We look forward to finalizing terms that can be agreeable to both the city and Clear Space for the substance of that future lease agreement by the end of October in order to ensure our board can consider those terms and take a vote as to which of the two sites under consideration will be the future home of our new performing arts center,” said Gfaller in a statement Sept. 10.