Opa-locka staff proposes museum, event space and vendor-managed services for Historic City Hall; commission asks for RFP details

Adelina Gross, the city's capital improvements manager, presented four concepts to commissioners for reimagining Historic City Hall and asked the commission for direction to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a private partner to manage the facility.

Gross described a mobile museum with movable displays preserving the building's architecture, a small gift shop and welcome center using mobile displays, an event space for weddings and small concerts, and a mobile coffee/tea truck to operate on the green outside the building. "Our proposed approach for these proposals is to do a request for proposals and issue request for proposals to look for qualified partners that can take care of the building, provide maintenance for the building, as well as bringing more people to the city," Gross told the commission.

Commissioners broadly supported the concept but pressed staff for details before issuing an RFP. Vice Mayor Joseph Kelly said he favors the facility being managed by a private vendor but asked that staff include annual maintenance cost estimates and clear revenue-sharing terms in the RFP so the commission can assess whether a vendor can make the building self-sustaining. "I wanna see what that RFP looks like, because we're asking a lot within this RFP to manage it, to secure the venue, ... what would that cost be so we can make sure that we generate enough revenue to maintain the building?" Kelly asked.

Commissioner Charlene Bass asked whether the operator would manage the whole building or only portions; Gross replied the commission could select any mix of uses and operators and that the intent is for a vendor to "manage the entire facility, handle the rentals, handle the upkeep, maintenance" while allowing the city to reserve the site for some events. Commissioners also raised the adjacent building (the former fire station/HR building) and asked staff to include that parcel and possible auxiliary kitchen/support uses in planning.

Gross said the museum displays would be movable so the building's historic architecture would not be altered. She described the mobile coffee operation as planned for the courtyard/green outside the hall and said the RFP would seek qualified partners to operate, maintain and market the venue. Staff told commissioners they will return with a revised plan and an RFP that includes estimated maintenance costs, expected city use, and revenue-sharing or lease terms.

Commissioners generally supported staff's direction to prepare the RFP but asked staff to return with cost estimates and operational expectations before issuing it.