City Cancels Open Bid Race for Lionheart, Kudzu

Things at Lionheart Theatre Co. and Kudzu Art Zone were getting heated after they discovered March 20 that the city had started accepting outside lease bids for their buildings.

Essentially, it meant that the two organizations could lose their venues to other bidders.

So the two art spaces asked their supporters to call and email city officials to express their concerns if either one of the businesses were forced to move out of Norcross. In the week after Lionheart and Kudzu first received the notices, the city received more than 200 responses from the public regarding the issue.

Because of the outcry, the city has decided to withdraw the request for outside proposals on the two buildings. Last week, Mayor Bucky Johnson met with both Lionheart Director Tanya Caldwell and Kudzu Director David Raderstorf to tell them the good news. 

"After the conversation with [the mayor], we're feeling a lot better," said Caldwell to Patch. "We feel very confident after the meeting that it's going to all go over our way.

"We feel safe," she continued. "We're going forward. We have a show opening in two weeks, and we have a whole year of activities planned, and season ticket holders are still coming through, so we're ready to go."

Johnson also told them they still have to re-negotiate their leases, though. According to Caldwell, the city has given Lionheart and Kudzu three options, and both organizations said they would like to go back to the bid process, but in a more structured race. The new race would have specific restrictions on what type of organization can bid on the buildings.

Caldwell said she gave Lionheart's lease proposal to the city Wednesday evening, and Raderstorf said he would submit Kudzu's on Friday. Caldwell said that basically, they've been asked to give the city the information they need to move forward with the bid, including how much the organizations can pay, what their plans are for their spaces and the desired length of their leases.

Once the information has been looked over, city officials could decide as soon as Monday during their executive session on what they wish to do and if a structured bid is the way to go.

“Kudzu and Lionheart are assets to Norcross’ dynamic arts scene, and we look forward to resolving the lease issues as soon as possible,” said Johnson in a news release.

"We think we're going to come to a very happy ending," said Raderstorf to Patch. "I think everybody is going to be pleased with it."

According to Councilman Charlie Riehm, the open bid process still is being applied to the other three Norcross venues included in the original race: the former Norcross Arts Center also known as The Nest, the Latin American Association and the Norcross Station Cafe.

See also:

• City Accepting Bids on Three Norcross Arts Spaces

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