Walnut : State Funds for Arts Center

Funding for a new performing arts center at Mt. San Antonio College has survived state budget cuts, and construction is expected to be under way by early next year.

Architectural plans for the 66,700-square-foot facility, which would triple the amount of space that the college now has for performing arts, are under review by the state architectural office.

When completed, the center will provide music, drama and dance students with lecture rooms, a 400-seat theater, a 250-seat recital hall, a 150-seat dance studio, offices, a rehearsal lab and a scene shop where props for theatrical productions can be assembled and stored.

A contract for construction of the $15-million building is expected to be awarded by mid-February, and college officials hope the project will be completed by early 1996.

The Legislature approved $13.4 million, about $330,000 less than what the college needs to cover construction costs. College officials say they will abolish the deficit through fund raising.

Next year, the Legislature will be asked for an additional $1 million to cover equipment costs for the new center.

Existing music and drama facilities were found in 1988 to be structurally unsound. Those buildings, which date from 1957, will be razed next spring to make way for construction.