Art Center Opening Is Postponed

Construction delays will postpone the opening of the Huntington Beach Art Center by at least two months, to April, city officials said this week.

The delays involve additional work--including asbestos removal--that emerged after conversion of a downtown Huntington Beach building to house the center was begun in July, officials said.

The Huntington Beach City Council last week approved $194,000 for the extra work, bringing the total reconstruction cost to $1.1 million, officials said. So far, the private Huntington Beach Art Center Foundation, funding most of the project, has raised $600,000.

Still, other “major” hurdles that lie ahead, including refurbishing the building’s facade and meeting fire code requirements, could cause further delays, said Ron Hagan, director of the city’s Community Services department.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to overcome those hurdles,” Hagan said, “both design- and budget-wise, and be ready to open in the first part of April.”

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Meanwhile, the city recently began drafting a 25-year cultural master plan, financed by another city allocation of $62,000. The plan is being devised by the Wolf Organization, which has helped large cities, including Los Angeles, with such blueprints.

The master plan “is like a road map for the future of culture development for the city of Huntington Beach, not just facility development, but program development,” said city Culture Services manager Michael Mudd.

The 11,000-square-foot art center is envisioned as a multifaceted facility to showcase visual art by local and regional artists and to feature performance art, lectures, films and poetry, plus classes, workshops and other programs.

The public may attend master plan task force meetings. The next one is scheduled for Nov. 30.