City Weighs Funding for Madrid Theatre
The Madrid Theatre, a $2.9-million arts complex that is planned on the site of a notorious former adult theater, has a $400,000 budget shortfall, city officials say.
On Wednesday, the city’s Housing and Community Redevelopment Committee discussed how to secure the remaining funds, but delayed a vote on the matter until March 19. In the interim, officials from the city’s Community Development Department will examine funding options, including federal housing loans, block grants, earthquake relief funds or a combination thereof.
“They found themselves in the hole,” explained Francine Oschin, press deputy for City Councilman Hal Bernson, a committee member. “They did not anticipate that when they got their initial grant.”
Existing funds for the planned 500-seat theater in the 21600 block of Sherman Way came from a $30-million earthquake recovery grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Construction costs increased by $300,000 last October due to complications involving the soil on the site.
The site’s colorful history dates to the 1920s, when a popular cinema operated there. Decades later, the cinema gave way to the Pussycat Theatre. After the Northridge earthquake, a plan emerged to transform the location into an arts center.
“We need to find a way to move on it,” Bernson told the committee Wednesday. “Not only is it an important project as far as earthquake recovery, but it’s replacing something, shall we say, objectionable.”
Oschin said development officials would use “creative financing” to finish the project.
“There may be funding they haven’t even considered yet,” she said.
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