Study Says Restoration of Old Balboa Theatre Would Cost $11 Million

Restoring the historic Balboa Theatre for use as a legitimate stage will cost $11 million, according to a study released Friday by the Centre City Development Corp.

Prepared by Theatre Projects Consultants Inc., the draft report states that the 1,500-seat theater, when restored, would be suitable for music recitals, concert opera, modern dance, chamber orchestras, individual performers, choral and pop music groups.

With acoustic enhancement, the facility could accommodate other needs, including children’s shows, speaker’s forums, extended runs of local theater productions, films and “modest” civic light opera performances.

The study, which was completed in December by Theatre Projects Consultants of New York, included the costs of preserving the theater’s historic architecture and providing seating and facilities that will meet “modern expectations for comfort and amenities.”

Surprised by Estimate

“I would have thought it would come in a little lower than that,” said an aide to Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer. “The last estimate was about $9.5 million . . . and (other experts) had talked about $7.5 (million) to $8.5 million,” said Joann Johnson, the administrative aide.

CCDC Vice President Pam Hamilton was also surprised.

“I was hoping the dollars would be lower, but I think the (estimate) is realistic,” she said. “If it has to be scaled back, this is not the time. Frankly I don’t know what is going to happen with the information.”

Neither the CCDC board of directors, nor the Theatre Advisory Committee, which has been studying options for the future of the Balboa, has seen the report. The advisory committee will discuss the consultant’s report and recommendations at its Thursday meeting.

The City of San Diego gained control of the Balboa through condemnation proceedings with the plan to convert the structure to a modern art center. But a combination of opposition from preservationists and a lack of funding by the museum group led to scrapping the art center plans.

The city boarded up the theater when an earlier survey revealed that the building did not meet modern seismic codes.

The consultants made several recommendations in the report, including soliciting operating cost proposals from potential managers of the facility. They suggested that CCDC and city staff identify possible methods of funding the restoration and subsidy costs of operating the theater.

“CCDC is a little gun-shy because of the Lyceum Theatre,” Hamilton said. CCDC leases out the new Lyceum complex to the San Diego Repertory Theatre. “It is requiring apparently an increasing subsidy on an annual basis. The Balboa Theatre represents a similar situation.

“This (the report) is good information, and I think it ought to be chewed on a while before we decide what it means.”