Site of Planned Arts Center Avoids Floodwaters : Sepulveda Basin: Land earmarked for theaters, museums and workshops weathers storm, but still faces funding and other hurdles.

It was a only a patch of muddy land but, for a private group that hopes to build a cultural center in the Sepulveda Basin, it was a beautiful sight.

While much of the basin flooded during Tuesday’s storm, the northern border remained safely above water. That included the 52 acres earmarked for Arts Park L.A., a proposed complex of theaters, museums and workshops.

“There was some standing water in the Arts Park area, some puddles, but no flooding,” said Bob Armogeda, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the basin.

“Whatever the water level was, there was no adverse effect.”

It was good news for anxious leaders at the Cultural Foundation, a San Fernando Valley organization that has worked toward building the $150-million complex for more than a decade. As envisioned, Arts Park would nestle amid greenery near the intersection of Victory and Balboa boulevards.

“I was keeping my fingers crossed,” said Ross Hopkins, the foundation’s executive director. “But we were in pretty good shape. As far as I know, we were never in much danger.”

The basin is a federal flood plain meant to collect water in rough weather. Near-record storms in 1992 almost submerged the proposed Arts Park site. In response to this and public opposition to the scope of its plans, the foundation scaled back.

Nearly 10 acres and several structures, including an open-air amphitheater at the banks of Lake Balboa, were eliminated. An elaborate theater that would serve as the complex’s centerpiece was shifted west across Balboa Boulevard. Proposed remaining structures were tucked close to the basin’s edge.

Those changes eased some concerns about the project. Still, Arts Park faces numerous obstacles.

The foundation must raise the funds for construction. Meanwhile, environmental groups including the Sierra Club and the Coalition to Save the Basin have argued that the basin, the Valley’s largest remaining green space, should remain as undeveloped as possible.

And Arts Park must earn approval from both the Corps of Engineers and the city of Los Angeles, which leases the basin as parkland. A final draft of the project’s environmental report is nearing completion and will be reviewed by the city’s Recreation and Parks Department. If approved, it would go before the City Council and then before the corps.

Should Arts Park eventually be constructed, it would follow a strict emergency plan during future storms, Hopkins said.

“We would cancel all performances,” he said. “But in any other part of the country, you have performances canceled because of snow and ice. So we’re fortunate to have good weather nearly year-round.”