The Palm Springs Plaza Theatre Foundation announced that at the December 14 meeting of the Palm Springs City Council, the Council unanimously approved hiring Woodcliff Construction of Los Angeles as the general contractor to oversee the comprehensive renovation of the historic Plaza Theatre. The report prepared by City Staff stated that it had fully vetted and recommended the contractor. The Council had recently approved an agreement between the City of Palm Springs and the Plaza Theatre Foundation that further defined the role the Foundation will play in the restoration and management of the Theatre, which is owned by the City of Palm Springs.
While the Foundation has already raised $15.2M, rising construction costs and anticipated opening expenses require the City to secure an additional $20 million to complete the project. The Staff report outlined a recommended financing strategy to provide up to $20M in City funds to ensure that the project proceeds on schedule and identified funding sources including continued fundraising. The projected annual tax revenue (with a conservative estimate of $2M-$4M per year) will generate income for the City. The Foundation is continuing its effort to raise funds for the Theatre’s renovation, on-going operations, and future programming toward the $20 million advanced.
“We are thrilled that the Council and Staff have selected an appropriate contractor for the restoration of the Plaza Theatre,” said Foundation President J.R. Roberts. “We are also elated that the City has identified additional funding sources to help this project break ground in 2024 and open in 2025. It is important to point out that the Plaza Theatre restoration project will not negatively impact other city initiatives and that the project will generate tax income and economic benefits to the City for years to come.”
In the case of the restoration of the Plaza Theatre, there are many factors that contribute to the increased project cost, including the sometimes-delicate nature of restoring an historic building. Pre-pandemic estimates of the project were based on projections by the architects and others associated with the project in the early days. Since the project began in 2019, those involved have been able to get deep into the actual structure of the Theatre. They now have a much more complete understanding about the actual conditions and what is likely to be encountered during the restoration. Accordingly, part of the increase represents a 12.5% contingency for the construction. The City and the Plaza Theatre Foundation decided not to scale back the full restoration plan or reduce the quality of the finished project. The Foundation is committed to delivering a ‘state of the art’ building to the community upon completion.
In the spring of 2023, the city asked the Foundation to expand its scope of the project to include managing the opening and ongoing operations of the Theatre. City Council approved a resolution on this issue in the summer of 2023, although no funding for opening costs were included. At the time, the Foundation Board enthusiastically voted to expand its mission and fundraising push to raise the additional funds required to open. The Board is finalizing negotiations with Oak View Group, operator of the Acrisure Arena, to provide those services.
