BUENA PARK : Alternative Plan for Arts Center Sought

The curtain has closed for now on an idea to build a community cultural and performing arts center on the campus of Buena Park Junior High School.

The project that was jointly proposed by the city and Buena Park School District is estimated to cost $5.7 million, which is more than what either agency can afford, said Wes Morgan, director of the city’s Recreation and Community Services Department. “The cost estimated was about double what the available budget was, which means it was not feasible from a financial standpoint,” Morgan said.

Morgan said the school district has $1.8 million set aside for the project, while the city anticipated contributing about $2 million. The city has budgeted $800,000 for the project with the rest coming from fund-raising efforts by the nonprofit Buena Park Cultural Arts Foundation, founded in 1987 to raise money for the city’s arts programs.

Mayor Arthur C. Brown said it is disappointing that the project didn’t pan out. “Right now it’s just on hold,” he said.

John Dade, chairman of the city’s Fine Arts Commission, also said that while “it’s a setback . . . by no means are we going to die on the idea” of a cultural arts center.

“We’ll just have to regroup and find an alternative plan,” he said.

Last May, city and school district officials decided to pursue the concept. The city hired a consultant to study the joint venture.

Morgan said consultants estimated that it would cost nearly $6 million for a 25,000-square-foot building that would meet the complex design needs of the city and the school district.

The original proposal was for a 10,000-square-foot building. The school district wanted a multipurpose building that would be used as an eating and meeting room for students and would include a kitchen and amphitheater, Supt. Jack Townsend said.

But the city wanted a building that could be used as a theater for plays and concerts and to exhibit visual arts.

Townsend said the school district now will move ahead with its plans to build a multipurpose center on the junior high school campus.

He hopes that the building will be completed by the 1994-95 school year.

Meanwhile, the city is expected to return to its original plans to one day build the cultural arts center at City Hall, Morgan said.