City OKs Reseda Theater remodel
BY BRAD A. GREENBERG, Staff Writer
Dreams of the dilapidated Reseda Theater being reborn as a community theater and trendy nightclub are a little closer to reality.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency bought the run-down theater two years ago for $1.3 million. The City Council on Friday approved an $8.7 million plan to deed the long-abandoned building to the CIM Group, developer and operator of the Hollywood & Highland Center.
“The Sherman Way corridor is desperately in need of improvement,” said Councilman Dennis Zine, whose district includes Reseda. “This will be the major spark for that corridor – and it’s long overdue.”
Reseda, once considered a hub of the Valley, has long been a community in need of rebuilding. The redevelopment agency has identified the Reseda Theater as the linchpin of change on Sherman Way.
Construction should begin in six to eight months, said Leslie Lambert, regional redevelopment director. The agency is chipping in $4.35 million, which will be paid back during the next 25 years through a profit-sharing agreement. The project is expected to generate $3.6 million in tax revenues during that time.
The $8.7 million price tag includes the construction of a parking lot and the cost of purchasing an adjacent store and converting it into a restaurant.
“We looked at the costs very carefully and we thought
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they were reasonable,“ Lambert said.
The 8,500-square-foot theater will be designed to accommodate theatrical shows, dancing and community events. It will be managed by TheatreDreams, which runs the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and the Chicago Theatre.
Built in 1948, the Reseda Theater had four decades of success as a popular moviehouse.
Vacant since 1988, it has at times been a den of vagrants.
By renovating the theater, officials hope more companies will want to do business in Reseda and more money will come into the community.
Such a model worked in the wake of the Northridge Earthquake when the city spent $3 million renovating the Madrid Theater. That marked the beginning of Canoga Park’s transformation from crime-plagued community to All-America City.
City OKs Reseda Theater remodel
BY BRAD A. GREENBERG, Staff Writer
Dreams of the dilapidated Reseda Theater being reborn as a community theater and trendy nightclub are a little closer to reality.
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency bought the run-down theater two years ago for $1.3 million. The City Council on Friday approved an $8.7 million plan to deed the long-abandoned building to the CIM Group, developer and operator of the Hollywood & Highland Center.
“The Sherman Way corridor is desperately in need of improvement,” said Councilman Dennis Zine, whose district includes Reseda. “This will be the major spark for that corridor – and it’s long overdue.”
Reseda, once considered a hub of the Valley, has long been a community in need of rebuilding. The redevelopment agency has identified the Reseda Theater as the linchpin of change on Sherman Way.
Construction should begin in six to eight months, said Leslie Lambert, regional redevelopment director. The agency is chipping in $4.35 million, which will be paid back during the next 25 years through a profit-sharing agreement. The project is expected to generate $3.6 million in tax revenues during that time.
The $8.7 million price tag includes the construction of a parking lot and the cost of purchasing an adjacent store and converting it into a restaurant.
“We looked at the costs very carefully and we thought
Advertisement
they were reasonable,“ Lambert said.
The 8,500-square-foot theater will be designed to accommodate theatrical shows, dancing and community events. It will be managed by TheatreDreams, which runs the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and the Chicago Theatre.
Built in 1948, the Reseda Theater had four decades of success as a popular moviehouse.
Vacant since 1988, it has at times been a den of vagrants.
By renovating the theater, officials hope more companies will want to do business in Reseda and more money will come into the community.
Such a model worked in the wake of the Northridge Earthquake when the city spent $3 million renovating the Madrid Theater. That marked the beginning of Canoga Park’s transformation from crime-plagued community to All-America City.