City’s Theater-Razing Costs Exceed Budget

The purchase and demolition of the Pussycat adult theater may cost the city as much as $100,000 more than budgeted, partly because of legal costs, officials said this week.

The city paid $300,000 to buy the property last year and began eviction proceedings against the tenant of the movie house as well as a small car-rental company next to the theater.

Development officials warned City Council members at a mid-fiscal-year budget review earlier this week that they might face $77,000 in potential legal fees.

The demolition of the theater, which started last month, was also over budget by $25,000 because of asbestos removal, the report said.

Destruction of the two buildings cost about $80,000, Thomas E. Lynch, development services director, said Wednesday.

The city is still negotiating possible compensation with the movie house tenant and the car-rental company, he said, adding that he could not disclose more details. “We’re not through the process yet,” he said.

Council members said they will wait for negotiations to end before appropriating more money for the Pussycat project.

They gave tentative approval, however, to requests from the Public Works Department for some projects not included in the city’s $38-million annual budget.

Officials will use $45,000 of gasoline-tax funds to install curbs, gutters and sidewalks along the west side of Grand Avenue, south of Crescent Avenue.

They will also begin a $40,000 study of traffic on the area of Crescent Avenue and Valley View Street. A pedestrian was killed in a crosswalk there several years ago, officials said.