Pics of the Casino Building from today...

Commissioner Amoroso invited a group of caterers and party planners to look at the Casino Ballroom and related facilities this morning.  I was invited to come along since one of the professional planning groups that I belong to may be interested in having their annual holiday party there this December.  Whether the city is going to contract out the "booking" of the facility or if it is going to be done "in house" has yet to be decided - along with pricing of the space.  Also to be discussed, probably at a special City Commission meeting sometime in mid-July, is to what extent certain community groups will have access and at what rate, if any, that access will carry.

Here are some pictures and commentary.  First of all, there is no forgetting that you are at an oceanfront location.  Pictures do not do the views justice through the many glass doors.  There are less doors on the west side of the room - but you definitely get the sea-to-lake feeling.  The A/C was on and the building seemed to have full power while I was there.  I would guess that the room could comfortably hold 200 for a seated dinner party - more if it is set up for theater seating.

View looking from the southwest corner of the ballroom.  That is a storage closet on the far wall.

The ceiling is simple, but a thing of beauty.  Lighting is very simple. reflecting a certain amount of value engineering, but it will be functional.  Another decision yet to come is the acquisition of tables and chairs by the city.  It sounded like no money was reserved for banquet tables and chairs.  I think the city would hate to burden groups that are using the space with having to provide their own seating.  But, this is the same city that runs our utility customer service department.  Seriously, I would be concerned about the wear and tear on the building if each group had to unload and load for each event.

View looking from the southeast corner of the ballroom.

The wood floor appears to be of a good quality.  But I do have some issues with the wainscoting.  I am not sure if I am seeing this pre or post punch list, but look at the picture below.

The spacing and finish is uneven throughout.  It is worse in some areas and not as bad in others.  This picture above is the northwest corner of the room.  It also seemed like the material could show dings and bumps easily - which is a concern in ballroom that is apt to have a lot of use and those tables and chairs I mentioned will be moved around often.  In the picture below, that corner could take a lot of beating, but also show the result.  It's not a tragic flaw, but this condition would be a concern.  And someone should check the consistency of the finish and installation.

The picture below is a view out the door but the camera does not do this justice at all.  The height of the wall around the terrace has been a concern of some.  I didn't measure it, but the top is probably around 48" from the deck - which is the standard code height for a railing.  The impact of the view would be greater with a less opaque wall or railing, but a plain wall is less expensive.  Still, to be in the room at all, you cannot avoid knowing/seeing that you are on the ocean.  This might be an obvious observation, but at night the ocean is dark and not that view worthy - I would imagine there will be a lot of evening events.  

Below you can see the width of the terrace area.  I am not sure how the doors operate or whether they can be propped open, but if they can and the weather is nice, you can bet this terrace area will get a lot of use.  It might be possible to have a small event outside just using the terrace.

All of the outdoor areas and stairwells use this concrete aggregate material (detail below).  Again, I am concerned about how this will look after a while with traffic, spills, things falling on it.  It's white (now) - I just think a more durable option that would require less care would have been the way to go, but this also appears to be a product of value engineering.

Some other details - here is one of the often discussed "turtle" lights (below).  This one is on the second floor and has a longer shield than the ones found on the first floor.  They have a bronze-like finish to them.  They may not be the most attractive fixtures individually, like in this picture, but installed as a group they look decent and they are a conversation starter.

You can see what they look like on the first floor in front of the retail area below.

The next picture is the area in front (east) of the proposed second floor restaurant area.  The view from this space is even more spectacular than that from the ballroom due to the increased number of doors. They are also spaced much closer together so it is like you are getting a FULL view of the ocean.  Unfortunately, my automatic focus camera got the best of me and I was not able to get a picture through the doors of the view outside - but it is like nothing else around these parts!  There was some truth to the hyperbole about this space.  We'll see what fills it - hopefully with a successful venture.  The space is unfinished.

One of the highlights was the catering kitchen (below).  The caterers and party planners commented on the size and how it was equipped - all in glowing terms.  They couldn't think of a public event space having something as nice in the area.

The cabinets and counter top (background of picture below) were further evidence of value engineering.  I am not familiar with the quality or reputation of Imperial commercial kitchen equipment. If someone is, leave a comment below.

Another bug-a-boo of mine, being familiar with an ocean location, is that the door hinges are already starting to show signs of rust meaning they will be an on-going maintenance issue.

More later...