A New 2,000-Seat Concert Hall? A Possible Way to Pay for Some Pool Reonovations?

If Livermore can have its 2,000-seat concert hall--big enough to attract national and international artists and Broadway-level tourisn shows, why can't Walnut Creek?--long the East Bay suburbs' capital of arts and culture. 

Talk about Walnut Creek building a 2,000 concert hall has been going on for decades. It was a was a feature of the city's Arts Vision Task Force of the previous decade. A larger venue would allow Walnut Creek to attract some of the top national and international artists, touring shows and big Broadway productions that wouldn't fit in the Lesher Center for the Arts, whose Hofmann Theater only accommodates a little more than 800 seats. 

Realizing they are taking something of a risk, Livermore city officials moved closer in February to attracting the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and the American Ballet Theatre to town.  The Livermore City council, which has already signed off on the design for its Livermore Valley Regional Arts Center in downtown, recently approved using a combination of general fund money and redevelopment agency tax increments over 30 years to pay for the $184 milliion project,

With this theater, the resurgence of Livermore's downtown, and the growing popularity of its Wine County, Livermore could become Walnut Creek's big rival in the arts and culture scene. Livermore already has the  on Eighth Street and the 500-seat  downtown.

Barry Gordon, the director of Walnut Creek's Arts, Recreation and Community Services, notes that there is not a huge groundswell of public support for Walnut Creek to build a new performance arts center, not as there was when the Lesher Center was built in 1990 and the new library was built in 2010. So, the idea of a large, Curran Theatre-size venue for Walnut Creek may be a pipe dream for some in the arts community. That also leaves the question of where to locate it. 

In Walnut Creek, you wouldn't be building sometime brand new on never developed land; you'd be tearing down or renovating an existing building, Gordon said. 

In any case, the new performing arts center will be among the many projects for the City Council to consider at a special study session Tuesday on the next 10-year Capital Improvement Program. It's time again for the city to decide how it wants to use money--some of which it receives from state and federal grants--on capital projects.  Thus far, the Arts Commission, Transportation Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission have weighed in with projects they hope can be funded through this capital improvement program.

The city has three major projects--all unfunded so far--that may warrant more attention than the performing arts center.  

They are the half-century-old aquatics centers at Clarke Memorial Swim Center and Larkey Park, which are in sub-standard condition and could cost the city $23 million to renoate 

The city council can also consider whether East Bay Regional Park District Measure WW funds, for which the city has received a $2,985,000 allocation, and in-lieu parkland dedication funds of about $2,985,000, which are collected from residential developers, would be available for some parks and recreation projects, such as all-weathers sports fields and even renovating Larkey Pool. 

Also, the city is looking to build a new 335-space parking garage as part of its Locust Street/Mt. Diablo Boulevard specific plan. Building this construct in the block bounded by Mt. Diablo Boulevard, N. California Boulevard and Cypress and Locust streets could costs $10,000,000 in 2010 dollars.

"The parking garage is vital to the continual redevelopment of this area," the staff report said. 

As part of its capital improvement program, the city will also move forward with planning and developing six sites for solar installations. 

The special study session will take place at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, in the third floor conference room, at City Hall, 1666 North Main Street.