Disney Concert Hall Project Gets Final OK

The long-anticipated Walt Disney Concert Hall project in downtown Los Angeles cleared its last hurdle Monday when the Music Center Board of Governors approved building the permanent home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Plans call for construction to begin in August on a 2,500-car underground garage, and for the 2,380-seat concert hall--designed by Santa Monica-based architect Frank O. Gehry--to open in 1996 on the 3.6-acre site on Grand Avenue, south of 1st Street.

“I’m very pleased,” said Frederick Nicholas, chairman of the Walt Disney Concert Hall Committee, after a 2 1/2-hour presentation to the Music Center board. “I think this is the most important event in the cultural history of Los Angeles since the opening of the Music Center more than 25 years ago.”

Costs for the garage, concert hall and road improvements are expected to reach $182.6 million, Nicholas said. Construction funds will come from the Disney family, a county bond issue, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and a new fund-raising campaign.

“When there are so many obstacles . . . so many entities involved and suddenly the very last obstacle disappears, it’s incredible,” said Ernest Fleischmann, Philharmonic executive vice president and managing director.