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If the city of Fort Myers wants a performing art center, it most likely will have to be built with private money.

Council member Liston Bochette brought up the topic during March 17’s City Council meeting, asking to discuss it further at a workshop.

Bochette said sports venues and a performing arts center would help diversify the city’s income stream. He compared it to owning a balanced portfolio of investments.

“Let’s take a look at it as a long-term goal,” he said.

“It’s an added quality of life,” city Economic Development Director Steve Weathers told Council. Improving the quality of life can help attract people to live in the city, he said.

A mid-size arts hall with maybe 400 to 500 seats is lacking, Bochette said. The Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College in south Fort Myers has nearly 1,900 seats.

Bochette would like to see a study done to assess the need for a performing arts center.

The cost of a hall can vary. Shell Point Retirement Community built the private Tribby Arts Center for $25 million. One being built in Sarasota is costing $407 million.

The city already has several large-item projects in the planning process, including a new police station and either a new or rebuilt city hall, so it’s unlikely to be able to foot the bill.

Bochette said a possible site could be in Midtown, an area the city is trying to rehab just south of downtown. Weathers said Lee Memorial Hospital’s Cleveland Avenue campus after the hospital is torn down would be a great location.

“It’s a heavy lift but not an impossible task,” Weather said.

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