FULLERTON : Deadline Extended for Fox Theatre Plan

The City Council voted Tuesday to give the owner of the Fox Fullerton Theatre a 95-day extension to file his financial plans for the renovation of the vintage theater.

Edward G. Lewis, a Hollywood attorney who owns the Fox on Harbor Boulevard, filed for the extension primarily because of financial difficulties with his partner, Landmark Theatre Corp., which is going through financial restructuring.

Mayor A.B. (Buck) Catlin said he sees no problem with the project and expects Lewis to devise a workable plan. “We’re just giving Lewis more time to work out an agreement,” Catlin said.

The total cost of the project will be about $7.3 million. Of that, Lewis and Landmark agreed to pay $1.5 million to restore the theater’s six Italian-style murals and stage decorations and bring the building up to modern standards for earthquake safety and handicapped accessibility. This would be in addition to the $1.1 million Lewis said he has already spent on repairs to the theater.

In April, the council voted to spend $4.7 million to buy and demolish houses behind the theater, relocate tenants living there and build a 200-space parking garage on the land. In addition, the council has begun to explore its options to purchase a former mortuary east of the Fox to allow better access to the parking structure and improve parking for adjacent retail shops.

Paul Richardson, vice president of operation for Los Angeles-based Landmark, said the company has no plans to scrap its Fox Theatre project. “The Fox is our No. 1 priority,” Richardson said. “Unfortunately, with today’s conservative economic conditions, it’s taking longer than we originally planned.”

Landmark Theatres operate 80 screens nationwide, featuring primarily foreign and classic movies. In Orange County, the company operates the Balboa Cinema in Newport Beach and the Port Theatre in Corona del Mar.

Richardson said the company believes the Fox would be able to draw about 137,000 customers and believes the Fullerton area would be ideal for the type of clientele Landmark attracts.

The Fox Theatre, built in 1925, has remained empty since it closed down in 1987. While plans call for the theater’s huge screen to remain, the cinema will be split, and the upstairs balcony area will be converted into two smaller screens.

Landmark hopes to open the theater by early next spring.