Ambitious Fullerton Plaza Plans Approved Despite Strong Protest

A plan to build a plaza with a giant-screen special effects theater in downtown Fullerton got the go-ahead early Wednesday from the city’s Redevelopment Agency, despite strong opposition from some members.

The plan for Fullerton Museum Plaza, as it is to be called, received mixed reviews from agency members and some of the 150 people attending a public hearing, which began at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and lasted more than five hours.

Agency members Molly McClanahan and Chris Norby had strong reservations about the $8.4-million project, which will require about $3 million in city funds.

“I think the city is taking a tremendous risk, and $3 million is an outrageous subsidy,” McClanahan said Wednesday afternoon.

Mayor Allen Buck Catlin disagreed. He said the plaza, which would include a specialty retail center in addition to the 346-seat theater and the existing Fullerton Museum, would serve as a catalyst to bring people downtown and create a “center core” for the city.

The majority of the five-member Redevelopment Agency--whose members also serve as the City Council--authorized city staff to complete negotiations with Canadian-based Imax Systems Corp. for the theater, which boosters hope will be the first of its kind in Orange County.

The agency also authorized a request for proposals for a financial partner to build, own and operate the commercial portion of the project as well as the theater. If no financial partner is found for the theater, however, three of the five-member body indicated that they would continue with the project.

Agency members, however, unanimously asked city staff to review alternative ways to recapture the $3-million contribution needed from the city to help construct the theater.

During the hearing, McClanahan and Norby expressed their concern about whether Fullerton would be able to obtain exclusive Orange County rights to an Imax theater for 10 years.

In a feasibility analysis of the project, consultants from Economic Research Associates based their projections of the theater’s overall success on a computation of estimated attendance, operation costs and revenue. They also assumed several key factors, including an exclusivity clause making Fullerton the only county city that would have such a theater for the next decade.

Do Not Have Agreement

However, city officials have not yet negotiated the exclusivity clause with Imax. There are presently 58 Imax theaters worldwide, including one each in Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Clara counties, said Peter Crane, an Imax consultant.

Crane said Wednesday that he did not know whether other companies or municipalities in Orange County are negotiating for an Imax theater but said he “would imagine” that others are interested.

Supporters expect the plaza to attract visitors not only to the theater and new retail stores but to existing area businesses as well.

Bordered by Harbor Boulevard and Wilshire, Pomona and Chapman avenues, the project is within walking distance of the Arboretum at California State University, Fullerton, Plummer Auditorium, Wilshire Theatre and the Muckenthaler Cultural Center.

Some speakers at the public hearing Tuesday evening questioned whether the new stores would actually bring more customers to existing businesses downtown. Instead, they argued that the shops may attract newcomers but the plaza’s enclosed appearance may influence visitors not to cross the street into other downtown areas.

Protest From Neighbors

Several speakers were from the YWCA and the First Christian Church, which are on the proposed plaza’s boundaries. Representatives from both organizations said they were concerned with the elimination of parking and the loss of their potential for future expansion.

However, other speakers praised the project and said it will give a needed boost to the downtown area and, specifically, to the existing Fullerton Museum.

As for the Imax theater, it will provide educational movies for the entire family which people “don’t have to apologize for,” said Marc Peterson, an independent consultant from Denver, home of another Imax theater.

Attendance at the plaza is projected to reach 6.4 million in 1988, the first year it is scheduled to be open. Theater patronage, it is estimated, will range from 320,000 to 350,000 persons the first year and then decline slightly and remain stable at 285,000 to 320,000 visitors by 1993 and after, according to the report by Economic Research Associates.

The consultants recommended an initial adult admission charge of $4.25 and a child/senior/group admission charge of $2.75.

Operating revenues for the theater are projected at $1.3 million for the first year, with an estimated operating cost of $952,000, according to Economic Research Associates. By 1997, it will cost $1.4 million to run the theater, which by then is expected to bring in $1.8 million annually, the consultants said.

The project the agency reviewed Tuesday night was scaled down from the original proposal, which included a four-level parking garage, water cascades and a colonnade with glass elevators. Those ideas have been scrapped. The deletions reduced the cost--from $12.7 million to $8.4 million--and made possible a closer tie to the museum, consultants said.