Update / Follow-up on the news

Plans for the city’s long-awaited community arts center took a significant step forward this week with approval of an architect, GKK Corp. of Irvine, to design the facility.

City officials are proposing a 425-seat, 7,000-square-foot theater and 16,000-square-foot auditorium at 15th and Monroe streets. The center will cost about $6 million, which has been raised through federal grants, bond measures and the sale of some city-owned property.

GKK, the architect, will be paid about $500,000 to design the center. Plans are expected to be completed in the spring, officials said.

The community center and theater have become top priorities because the Westminster Auditorium is scheduled for demolition. The auditorium land was sold to raise $630,000 toward the new center, but the deal will leave some groups temporarily without performance space.

The city plans an aggressive fund-raising campaign to provide a “safety net” for the community center’s operations. Finance officials say they expect the center to lose about $25,000 annually for its first five years of operations.

If the city could raise $300,000, the interest would cover that projected loss, City Manager Bill Smith said. Over time, the city hopes to raise several million dollars for an endowment fund, Smith said, a goal that could be achieved with the help of a professional fund-raiser.

At its meeting this week, the City Council also directed its staff to negotiate with Crystal Catering Inc. of Lakewood for the center’s catering operations.

The center will eventually be available for weddings, special events and business conferences as well as theater performances, officials said.