In 2021, the City of Los Angeles had a plan: close San Pedro’s historic Warner Grand Theatre for 12 to 15 months, then re-open in 2023 after $9 million in renovations.
Two years later, with no work begun and the projected closure extended to two years, the city says the plan approval process is finally nearing completion. But varying accounts of what is in the plans make it clear that not everyone involved is on the same page. And those with direct access to the plans refuse to share them voluntarily.
One of the people who had not seen the plans is Fred Allen, vice president of the Grand Vision Foundation, a nonprofit arts organization whose “arts and educational experiences [are] centered on the historic Warner Grand Theatre and the Grand Annex in downtown San Pedro” and which participated in the creation of a 2019 feasibility study enumerating a full range of recommended renovations. Because he was never shown the final submitted plans for the renovation, in early February Allen reached out to the city to get a sense of what work is planned at present. On Feb. 16 a reply came from Juan Garcia, public information officer for the Department of Cultural Affairs, saying that, pending approval by the city’s Plan Check, beginning June 30 the theater would be closed for renovations “includ[ing] some historical restoration work; adding an elevator that will reach the 2nd floor and 3rd floor projection room; the addition of a roof-top deck; renovating a VIP multi-purpose room; and a renovation of store fronts for administrative and production rooms,” with “an estimated completion date of July 1, 2025.”
Garcia’s summary is at some variance with that provided in the city’s Project Info Report, which omits any mention of an elevator but includes “ADA access and egress, Structural upgrades, HVAC, Electrical system, Fire Life Safety system […] Improvement and expansion of concession areas. Theatrical improvements include acoustical enhancement, audio-visual control system, house lighting systems & controls, theatrical light fixtures, production drapery & rigging, etc.”
But neither of these overviews mentions any plumbing work, which 15th District Councilman Tim McOsker says is one of the top priorities. Although McOsker also hasn’t seen the final plans, he says that in late March he was given a walk-through of the forthcoming renovation, which purportedly includes “all electrical and plumbing systems,” with “a primary focus on the restrooms.”
Grand Vision Foundation President Liz Schindler-Johnson says she has seen the final plans and provides the most detailed overview, saying the proposed work includes a major overhaul of not only the plumbing but refurbishment of all existing restrooms, along with the addition of “eight or nine” single-person, gender-neutral restrooms. “The top priorities, which are being addressed, are the main elevator, better ADA access to the auditorium and plumbing, electrical and HVAC upgrades,” she says, while also noting the addition of not one but two elevators: one at the northwest corner of the building running from the lobby to the projection room, and smaller one from running the stage to dressing rooms.
Initially, Schindler-Johnson indicated to Random Lengths News that she did not believe she had seen the final plans. “[…] I feel like I have some sort of a scope, but it doesn’t have any plans in it,” she said via telephone. “I’m looking at it right now. I can’t believe it doesn’t have any plans in it. So I’m not sure if I was given the latest plans. I really don’t feel like I was.” However, two weeks later she stated she’d had the plans all along but “was not authorized to share it,” declining to say whether anyone told her the plans could not be shared.
In any case, Schindler-Johnson’s understanding of the project’s budget is at variance with city figures. Although she stated via e-mail that “I was told by the DCA and the Bureau of Engineering representatives yesterday [i.e., March 23] that we have $12.5 million in hard costs [i.e., money directly construction-related] allocated for the project,” with an additional $1.5 million in “soft costs” (e.g., permitting), the City’s Project Info Report lists the construction budget at $10.2 million, a figure affirmed by McOsker and Garcia. (Allen’s understanding of the project budget, which he says he obtained from previous 15th District Councilmember Joe Buscaino’s office, more or less comports with Schindler-Johnson’s.)
The City of Los Angeles declined to share the renovation plans with Random Lengths. According to Mary Nemick, the Bureau of Engineering’s director of communications, “We do not release plans unless they are final. Sharing drafts or incomplete files could cause problems.” Random Lengths asked Nemick whether the plans include renovations/additions of bathrooms (or any plumbing), installation of elevators, and/or creation of new office spaces (e.g., box office, manager’s office, rooftop deck). “Let me see if I can get more details,” Nemick stated initially but provided no further information.
When it was pointed out to McOsker that many of the items enumerated during his sitewalk are absent from the Project Info Report, he instructed Sophie Gilchrist, his director of communications, to research the matter. Random Lengths provided Gilchrist with the request for details put to Nemick but also received no reply. (Random Lengths has subsequently submitted a Public Records Act Request for the plans and related information.)
This lack of transparency is part of why Allen is so concerned about the renovation.
“They are in Plan Check, but they are not sharing what’s going on,” he says. “Whenever that happens, you know that people are doing things they don’t want to share because you’re going to disagree with them. The whole thing has been [a complete] subterfuge. They have never had a single open conversation with this community about what they’re going to do at that theater. Not one. That’s S.O.P. [standard operating procedure] for the City of Los Angeles. […] Why can’t we get [the plans]? Why can’t we see them? Why isn’t there some public forum that shows what they’re up to?”
Allen points to the city’s handling of the Vision Theatre in Leimert Park, which the city took control of circa 2000, as the nightmare scenario highlighting the city’s lack of competency in this field. In 2018, the Vision Theatre was closed for a two-year renovation. The re-opening date was subsequently pushed to 2021, then 2022. But as of November 2022, the anticipated project completion date had been pushed to August 2023.
“The city tried [renovating a historic theatre] once before, and they completely fucked it up,” Allen says. “[…] That’s a telltale of how the city is able to do theater. […] They do not have an adequate grip on what it takes to run a theater. […] If I were king of the mountain, I would stop this project right now [and] not allow it to go forward until they have public hearings that tell us what they’re doing and convince us they have enough money to pull off those things […]. I just don’t have the confidence that they have the cash to do it.”
Random Lengths submitted requests to both Nemick and Garcia to discuss the Vision Theatre but received no reply.
While McOsker agrees that the Vision Theatre is a cautionary tale, he is confident that the city will do better this time — partly because he will be here to stay on top of things.
“It’s a lesson to learn. It’s a tough lesson for that community, and my heart goes out to ‘em, because I think the Vision Theatre is an important asset to Leimert Park,” he says. “But it’s also a lesson that I take into consideration. With my background in having managed projects, and my legal background in having advised folks who have managed projects, and having worked with the mayor in having moved projects through from start to finish, I am fully aware of the capacity of the City to close too soon, to not plan a project all the way through and have it closed too long and then have the project essentially become strained. It could fail unless we think hard, work tight, and keep moving, make sure it’s properly funded, and make sure the bids are properly reviewed. I have great confidence in my office, I have great confidence in my ability to stay on this project — make sure it closes at the right time, that we do the work expediently, and that we get the thing open as quickly as possible. […] I’m going to work to make sure we do the best work we possibly can with the funding that we have.”
Although the Warner Grand was originally slated to close June 30, last month McOsker announced via Facebook that the date had been pushed back to Sept. 30. Now he seems to have been instrumental in its being pushed to January 2024.
“[During my recent site walk I asked] for a conservative timeline,” he reports. “‘How long will it take to get the final building permits? […] How long will [the bidding process take]?’ And as I went through that reasonable calculation, it sounded more like it will be in December that we can start work. So for that reason I’ve asked […] to keep the facility open through Dec. 31 so that we can enjoy a holiday season there, as […] the facility does get used for concerts and performances throughout the holidays.”
McOsker’s connection to the Warner Grand goes far deeper than its being a historic part of his district. He and his future wife danced The Nutcracker at the Warner Grand, and just before the COVID-19 pandemic his eldest daughter married on that same stage, with a reception in the lobby, where the bride’s grandparents recounted their own story of getting to know each other in the 1950s while working there as usher and “candy girl.”
“It is a jewel,” McOsker says. “It’s a beautiful, historic monument in the city, and it’s wonderful that it still has activity. It’s great that it’s going to receive some of the renovations that it needs. This is just a piece of it. We need more, but this will be a piece.”
The 2019 feasibility study, which was generated by Studio Pali Fekete Architects or SPF: architects, itemizes approximately $30 million in recommended renovations — although Schindler-Johnson estimates that, with rising construction costs over the last four years, today that total would be closer to $35 million. For his part, Allen believes that doing everything enumerated in the study would cost at least $40 million — but that even such an expenditure would fall short of the stated goals.
“I question whether even $40 to $45 million is enough to bring the theater up to the standards that are necessary in order for large ensembles to come into the building, [which is] one of the things we were tasked with determining,” he says. “If you want to get an equity-level show, you’re going to need to have dressing rooms that have sinks in them. We’ve got big dressing rooms with nothing in them […] and two bathrooms across the hall for six dressing rooms. [… Also,] They told me they weren’t going to do anything on the stage except for the elevator — but that stage has many, many deficiencies which hold it back from being a really good theater to perform in. […] Equity would never allow a production to come into that building — [yet] that was one of the stated goals for the renovation: ‘How do we get bigger productions into the theater?’ But the architect just didn’t want to deal with that. At one point they were arguing over what the candy counter was going to look like, for heaven’s sake!”
According to SPF:a’s Michael Toubi, the concession counter is one of the major items that caused the “bottleneck” in Plan Check for what Schindler-Johnson characterizes as “months and months and months.”
“We’re still trying to appease Plan Check,” Toubi said in mid-February. “[…] The Health Department, actually, is questioning our choices. […] This is typical and understandable because we are renovating the concession stands, […] which is their jurisdiction. […] That definitely added to [the two-year delay].”
One local business that may be eradicated by the renovations is Sacred Grounds, the coffeehouse-and-more that has been a downtown staple since 1995. According to Schindler-Johnson, one-third of Sacred Grounds’ current footprint will be annexed as a Warner Grand “production space,” while the other two-thirds will continue to be a coffee shop, though not necessarily operated by/as Sacred Grounds. But Allen believes altering the Sacred Grounds space “is a fool’s errand.”
All parties seem to concur on two points: the Warner Grand Theatre is a treasure, and it is in serious need of renovation. Allen says parts of the electrical system date from its 1931 opening. Schindler-Johnson notes that the HVAC system the city installed in 2000 is so loud that it can’t be used during performances. By all accounts there is far more to do than there is money to do it.
The devil — along with the disputations — is in the details. Until the City of Los Angeles provides a clear, consistent picture of what work is to be done during the forthcoming renovation, there is no telling what the Warner Grand’s future holds in store.
(Full disclosure: Fred Allen is the brother of James Preston Allen, publisher of Random Lengths News.)