City may seek state help with theater

Paul Clinton

BALBOA PENINSULA -- City leaders anxious to move along the troubled

renovation of Balboa Theater say they are considering applying for state

grant money.

The statewide Proposition 40, which passed March 5, sets aside $200

million of the $2.6 billion it will raise to preserve cultural and

historic resources.

“Technically, the building is historic, but it’s not on a registry,”

Mayor Tod Ridgeway said. “Cultural? Yes. It would qualify under those

conditions.”

The city bought the theater in 1998 for $480,000.

The Balboa Performing Arts Theatre Foundation, which leases the

theater from the city, has embarked on a major renovation of the

building.

The foundation’s goal of reopening the historic vaudeville house as a

first-rate theater has suffered a series of setbacks in recent months and

years. Fund-raising efforts have left the project $2.5 million to $3

million short of the $5.5 million needed.

The last few months have seen potential progress and a noted loss.

On Jan. 25, the foundation’s executive director, Michele Roberge, was

fired from the group.

In early February, Ridgeway said the city should buy the building

adjacent to the theater, so it could be used for space needed for

dressing rooms, restrooms and rehearsal space.

At a City Council study session Feb. 12, foundation leaders agreed to

submit a business plan to the council. That is expected to occur next

month, Ridgeway said.

The theater at 707 E. Balboa Blvd. has been vacant since 1992, when it

was last used as a movie house.

Whether the city can secure the funding remains an open question.

There will no doubt be tremendous competition for the funds, officials

said.

“It’s something that we will look at in the coming months,” City

Manager Homer Bludau said. “It’s just a maybe at this point.”

Officials with California State Parks have said they will seek funding

from the same bond money to renovate the 46 cottages at Crystal Cove

State Park. Department leaders and Gov. Gray Davis have said the cottages

are a top priority.