With the rules for public and private events in constant flux due to COVID-19, The Commons has seen a difficult six months.
The Commons is estimated to lose a little over $64,000 in 2020 due to event cancellations since the start of the pandemic, according to a recent event revenue calendar. For the year as a whole, estimated event revenue is $87,522.50.
Pam Harrell, director of business services for the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, said that while The Commons worked to reschedule events whenever possible, there were still instances where they had to give refunds.
However, despite these losses, Commons manager Shanda Sasse said at a recent Commons Board meeting that the facility has recently seen bookings for jury selections and church services, as well as “one-off” events.
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During the month of August, there were 10 rental events and about 900 attendees overall. For the year to date, there have been 170 events and 13,406 guests overall.
“The need is still there,” Sasse said. “We’re happy to accommodate that. It’s just a little bit less when it comes to the numbers. Now that being said, for 2021, the Saturdays are actually filling up fairly quickly. So people are still asking about wedding receptions and things later in next year. I got a request this morning for 2022, so people are definitely thinking ahead.”
At the moment, The Commons is only open for rental events. It is set to reopen to the public once Indiana enters Stage 5 of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s reopening plan. Stage 4.5 is estimated to last until at least Sept. 25.
Per the governor’s orders, event attendees are required to wear masks and the maximum guest capacity is 250. Sasse said that most events have much fewer, around 160-170 at most.
Sasse was not able to say how The Commons will make up for the lost revenue from canceled events.
“We’ve been having lots of conversations about it and how to recoup some of those, whether that’s new experiences or other shifts in our focus,” she said. “But it’s definitely something that we’re conversing about. It’s something we’re concerned about, of course. … We’re going to do our best to recoup them as fast as we can.”
The Commons has also lost revenue due to the rent abatements for its restaurant tenants.
In March, the Columbus Redevelopment Commission voted not to charge rent for all six of its restaurant tenants for April and May. Four of these tenants are Commons restaurants — Luciana’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, Bucceto’s Pizza and Pasta, Subway, and Orange Leaf. The other two city tenants who received rent relief, Lucabe Coffee and the Garage Pub and Grill, are not part of The Commons.
In late May, the commission approved additional relief. Sarah Cannon, commission president, said that the tenants would receive full rent abatement in June and July and a 75% abatement from August to December (meaning that they would pay 25% of their rent during those months).
In late July, the commission approved a resolution to provide Orange Leaf and Subway, the two interior Commons restaurants, with continued 100% rent abatement until The Commons reopens. Unlike Luciana’s and Bucceto’s, Orange Leaf and Subway have no exterior entrances and have been closed since March, when The Commons initially closed due to the pandemic.
Harrell said that if the abatement for Orange Leaf and Subway continues through December, the total cost of the 2020 rent abatements for the four Commons restaurants will be about $95,940.
“We have, with the support of the Commons Board, done what we can to help those tenants,” said redevelopment director Heather Pope. “Our downtown retailers are what make our downtown so vibrant and a fun place to go. And we want to try and make sure that our efforts over the last couple decades are not lost with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Pope said that when she last spoke with individuals from Luciana’s and Bucceto’s, they said that while their lunch crowds have decreased, their dinner crowds are “OK.”
Sasse said that other challenges The Commons faces include keeping guests and staff safe and healthy, as well as maintaining good “cleaning protocols,” which requires getting supplies and incurs certain costs. The 2021 Commons Fund budget states that “Any cleaning agents will likely increase by 50% in cost due to supply and demand from COVID-19.”
The budget also forecasts revenues of $812,633.52 for the year 2020. With capitals, expenses are estimated to be about $1.2 million. In 2019, revenues were $1,004,546.54 and expenses with capitals were about $1.06 million.
Sasse said that despite the challenges, staff are staying flexible. She said that teamwork is essential as The Commons figures out “how all of the logistics may have changed and how we move forward safely.”
The 10th anniversary of the current Commons building is this spring. Sasse said that while The Commons is still trying to figure out just how to mark the milestone, there will likely be some kind of recognition or celebration in April or May.
When asked how she felt about the future, Sasse said, “Optimistic. Always optimistic. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be difficult days, but you have to remain positive and look forward. We’ve been here for the community since the 70s, and we want to continue to be here for the community.”
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More information about The Commons is available at thecommonscolumbus.com.
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