Corpus Christi's Ritz Theatre will get $100K in tax funds if it raises money to match

Julie Garcia | Corpus Christi

Show Caption Hide Caption Corpus Christi City Council to vote on Downtown Vacant Building Ordinance On Aug. 14, Corpus Christi City Council will vote on an ordinance to encourage property owners to maintain vacant buildings in downtown.

Hope remains that the historic Ritz Theatre will return to at least a fraction of its once greatness.

The first step toward that goal is underway with the city of Corpus Christi agreeing to set aside $100,000 of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 3 funding in the next fiscal year.

But the Ritz has to match it with its own $100,000 before the TIRZ board will release the funds, according to a memorandum of understanding.

The TIRZ board is made up of all nine City Council members, plus Nueces County Commissioner Carolyn Vaughn as the chairperson, Claudia Jackson with Del Mar College and Al Jones, the retired CEO of American Bank.

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This is the first time in 12 years the city has pledged a portion of taxes to the theater. The budget for TIRZ No. 3 comes from a portion of property taxes in the downtown zone.

Monica McLeod Sawyer heads the nonprofit organization PATCH, which has been working to restore the Ritz since 2006. She said the timing coincides with the Ritz's first major fundraiser, the ¡Que Bueno! Taco Festival, which is coming up Sept. 15.

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The festival's proceeds will go to restore the Ritz and fund the Artist Nurturing Program, which is aimed at supporting local artists, "encouraging them to stay in Corpus Christi and thrive," according to the website.

"It's really great timing because we're going to be able to use the fundraising from the taco festival to match the TIRZ money since that festival goes directly to support the Ritz revival," Sawyer said. "The requirements are that we match (the funds), and that we complete the work that we outlined for it to go toward."

In the first phase of restoration, about 80 percent of the TIRZ's $100,000 will go toward roof repair. The rest will be used to start plumbing work, she said. Phase 1 will cost about $500,000.

The nonprofit has also hired Susan Palmer with the Palmer Westport Group, an organization that specializes in historic building restoration. Palmer has experience in restoring historic theaters, including The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Palmer will begin working on the Ritz during the taco festival.

As for the city's proposed downtown vacant building ordinance, Sawyer said the organization is working with the Downtown Management District for help to rehab the building's appearance.

"We are very close to compliance; we already have lights... we're getting security cameras, in response to the robbery we had a few weeks ago, and we're fixing up the front and doing a mural for taco fest," she said. We're following the direction of the city (and management district) to get the building where it needs to be so that everyone can feel very confident about supporting our project financially."

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Councilwoman Debbie Lindsey-Opel said the TIRZ board designates funds and projects within the parameters of its charter.

"One of the amazing opportunities with a TIRZ is that it allows the city to take funding raised within a predefined area and reinvest it back into that area," Lindsey-Opel said. "It's important to know that this funding will be the 'last-in' funding; public dollars will come after they raise their money."

Lindsey-Opel said it will be "very exciting" to raise the rest of the funds to restore the Ritz's roof.

"Fixing the top will effectively help what they need to fix underneath," she said. "It's amazing to see people energized, like business owners downtown, and see people actually investing and making a go of it."

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In her time leading restoration efforts, Sawyer said the openness to support the Ritz is new, and it "speaks volumes of where we are in development of downtown."

"A shift has really taken place and city government is recognizing that," she said. "Hopefully everyone will look at the Ritz as a significant part of a bigger picture."

Twitter: @reporterjulie