IRVINE TO TAP DONORS FOR COSTLIER THEATER

Construction and design cost estimates for the Irvine city theatre project at UC Irvine have jumped $2.3 million over the original $9.5 million projected in 1985, and city officials said this week that private donations will have to make up the difference.

The estimated increase in costs to $11.8 million was included in an updated construction budget submitted to the City of Irvine by the Irvine City Theatre Operating Co., but company officials said this week that the final bids may actually be lower than the new projections.

Councilwoman Sally Anne Miller said she was not alarmed by the revised figures contained in the report, which indicated that construction could begin by December.

“The (increased) total is not surprising, considering the 1985 (estimate) was strictly preliminary, and the design and other costs have since been fine-tuned,” said Miller, a leading proponent of the city-supported theater.

Two years ago, the City Council agreed to devote $9.5 million in municipal bond funds to cover the estimated $9.5-million cost for constructing and designing the theater. No other funds have been raised for the project, although the land has been donated by the University of California.

Miller said the City Council is “still committed to that $9.5 million, but any costs over that amount will have to be raised from the (private) community,” and added, “and we feel confident that kind of support is out there.”

The 750-seat, proscenium-style facility is to be built on a 2 1/2-acre site in UC Irvine’s Gateway Plaza along Campus Drive. The site is valued at about $2 million.

The theater is intended for use by community and UCI organizations for music, drama, dance and other attractions suitable for the smaller facility. The opening is planned for 1990.

The increase in the project’s new construction budget is based on a cost review by Jones Construction Management Co. of Beverly Hills for the theater’s nonprofit operating company, city officials said.

Douglas Rankin, the operating company’s general manager, said that the projected $11.8 million for construction and design is a “conservative” figure and that the company expects contractor bids to be “significantly lower” when they come in later this year.

The latest budget also listed $511,400 in administrative costs and proposed raising an additional $1.1 million for a contingency fund.

The operating company is expected to launch a drive this summer to raise the additional funds for construction and related costs, as well as for an operating endowment. A study on donor prospects is being completed by Gary Phillips & Associates, a Los Angeles firm that is also a consultant to the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

The 59,000-square-foot Irvine City Theatre has been designed by Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons Inc. of San Francisco. The plan provides for a main facility with a 575-seat ground floor and 175-seat balcony. Also planned is a 125-seat studio-rehearsal hall.