NEWPORT BEACH : Edwards Theater Allowed to Expand

The big Edwards Newport Cinemas is going to get bigger.

The City Council approved plans Monday night to allow Edwards Theater Circuit Inc. to demolish the former Good Earth restaurant at 300 Newport Center Drive and build in its place a three-screen annex to the existing three-screen theater.

Plans call for a three-story complex, using the existing ground-floor entrances and ticket booths. Patrons will ride elevators or escalators to a lobby level below, which will house three new auditoriums, each with 299 seats, a full-size screen and digital sound.

Only employees will use an enclosed bridge connecting new administrative offices in the annex to the current theater site.

“We put a lot of study into making this work, and we think it will work beautifully,” Jim Edwards, president of the chain, told the council.

Edwards said the company expects to start construction this fall and have the new screens running by next summer, bringing its total to 2,947 seats.

The council’s only objection to the project came from Councilwoman Jean H. Watt, who wanted the new marquee sign to keep to the 32-foot height limit.

But other council members pointed out that there are no homes nearby, and the adjacent Hard Rock Cafe has a 40-foot guitar adorning its frontage.

“I was on the Planning Commission when that sign came up, and I voted against it,” Councilwoman Janice A. Debay said. Now that it’s there, she said, “it really looks good.”