Kimmel president sets her priorities

Leaders of the Kimmel Center are fond of describing Philadelphia's arts behemoth in life-cycle terms. The planning and building phases are behind them, and now the center is figuring out the operational, how-to-live phase.

But that life-cycle narrative leaves out one important step, and it's the one a new set of Kimmel officials are dealing with now:

The putting-things-right phase.

New president and chief executive officer Anne Ewers has been in place 90 days, and what's obvious to her already, after speaking with dozens of Kimmel staffers, board members and resident companies, is that before the center can move on, it must alleviate its $30 million construction debt, double its $40 million endowment, plan a round of renovations to liven its street presence, and address a series of complex acoustical issues in Verizon Hall.

These hurdles are hardly surprising. Previous president Janice C. Price had tirelessly hammered away at the same set of priorities. But Ewers has the benefit of a second, new study prepared by Deloitte & Touche USA that validates a number of items on the agenda - in particular, the need for a larger endowment, and the value of the Kimmel itself continuing to present Broadway rather than outsourcing it to a corporate entity.

Last season, Broadway once again paid the bills. The Kimmel's series at the Academy of Music, which included part of the run of The Lion King, brought in $4 million after expenses. That's no lion - it's a cash cow.

Ewers sounds determined to settle the long-lingering financial issues quickly. She is motivated not only by the drag a $30 million debt puts on the annual budget, but also by an offer of $25 million from an anonymous donor if the Kimmel can settle its construction-debt tab.

Professional fund-raisers will tell you that development is the slow art of cultivation, building relationships sometimes for years before going out on the ledge with "the ask." But Ewers - who came to Philadelphia from Salt Lake City, where she was president and CEO of the Utah Symphony and Opera - is moving on a different timeline.

"I recently met with someone I never laid eyes on before, and 45 minutes into the meeting I was asking for $2 million," she said in a recent interview in the Kimmel's sunny, quiet plaza. "It's what has to be done. Unfortunately, there's no time for mincing around."

How did it go?

"Very well," she said after a pause and with a smile pregnant with meaning.

Ewers pointed to the board as shouldering much of the responsibility in ridding the Kimmel of its $4 million line-of-credit balance and $26 million left over from a construction phase that spent more than it raised.

"It needs to be dealt with now," she said. "We have been criticized for having a board that doesn't give as much as it should, and now I am focused on the effort to generate support from the board and I am delighted with the reaction so far. My hope is to set up an opportunity for participation from our key foundations and together for all of us to resolve it quickly."

The Deloitte study, she said, recommends a $72 million endowment - $85 million if you take into account the Kimmel's maintenance and capital needs. Right now, the market value of the endowment is $40 million.

So, to figure the Kimmel's total fund-raising goal, add $30 million (construction debt) plus $32 million (new endowment), factor in the $25 million anonymous pledge, and you come up with a $37 million nut.

How much of that $37 million is raised?

"I am still in the collection stage, so I really can't say at this point," Ewers said.

"The good news is that for the second year we closed with a surplus, this time $1.6 million, so I think that shows the organization as it is can operate in a positive way," she said.

Settling the debt and funding the endowment are separate from the question of how to pay for future work needed at the Kimmel. Not even six years old, the center needs repairs from wear and tear, as well as what could be expensive re-dos of ideas that didn't work.

Acoustics is one. Two highly respected acousticians have called the sound in Verizon Hall, the home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, inadequate. Ewers is not too talkative on the subject, though she says the Kimmel would be responsible for raising the money for that project in coordination with the orchestra, and says that standard business practice dictates the gathering of three opinions.

When will some progress be made?

"Jim [orchestra president James Undercofler) and I have said to each other, the debt's got to be gone, and the orchestra has to be hitting its endowment campaign goals. The faster this can be done, the quicker we can put our resources into addressing the acoustics issue."

Ewers is also considering other renovations that could be costly.

How can the rooftop garden be effectively heated and cooled? "It is stunning from September to May, and then it really becomes uncomfortably hot for the balance of the year," she said.

What can be done to bring down the tremendous cost of heating and cooling the entire center? "We're really looking for opportunities to address the energy challenge."

Has the problem with sprinkler systems going off in Verizon and Perelman been solved? A February incident above the Perelman, where Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concerts are often heard, released 2,000 gallons of water per minute for eight minutes. Damage amounted to $475,000 (which was covered by insurance). Human error was the cause, she says. "We have a number of controls in place to make sure that won't happen again."

She points to the off-putting black cube outside the building at the corner of Broad and Spruce; the location of the ticketing window, where noise prevents sales associates from conducting business when an ensemble is playing in the plaza; and a gift shop that has no access from the street.

She's considering ideas floated by the Center City District, which commissioned architecture firm MGA Partners to explore ideas for an enlivened Kimmel Center. They proposed moving the ticket window outside, right at the corner of Broad and Spruce; recladding the black cube with a more transparent material; and putting up a video-projection screen that would show images from performances.

A rough estimate put the construction costs at about $500,000, plus the expense of the video-screen technology, said MGA Partners principal Alan Greenberger.

"There are tremendous opportunities," Ewers said. "I have a meeting with Sidney Kimmel's folks, because it's important that they think it's something that's appropriate. There must be a powerful, elegant way to let people know what's going on inside. Are there other things we can do here?

For Ewers, it all comes down to an ideal chased by all of her predecessors:

"What will make this a destination location?"