Glendale’s historic Alex Theatre has a Mozart symphony, a Filipino pop concert and the musical Shenandoah listed through June, but the future of such artistic escapes may be in danger. The closure of the Glendale Redevelopment Agency — which provided funding and until recently owned the theater — has left the Alex with a murky future, prompting the theater’s backers to push for a legislative fix that they say could save the 87-year-old landmark. “The Alex is the community’s house,” said Elissa Glickman, interim chief executive of Glendale Arts, the nonprofit that operates the theater. “If it was to be sold or put in private hands, the city would lose this tremendous community resource.” The 1,413-seat theater is a home to the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and hosts about 250 events per year. It also is available for rent for private events such as graduations, weddings and corporate functions. In the last fiscal year, the theater drew nearly 100,000 visitors, according to its annual report. In February, Glendale’s redevelopment agency and some 400 others around the state closed down — a culmination of a battle initiated by the governor who sought redevelopment funds to ease California’s persistent budget crisis. Now, successor agencies must sell many of the assets of the former redevelopment agencies, a process that has put the Alex and billions of dollars across the state in play. Although the Glendale City Council has chosen to become a successor agency, it’s decisions are subject to approval by an oversight board and the state, which limits the city’s ability to direct redevelopment assets to where it wishes. The Glendale Redevelopment Agency purchased the theater in 1992. At the time it was shuttered and the agency invested millions to restore the performance venue, which got its start in 1925 as the Alexander Theatre. Glickman said the theater helps to support restaurants and other businesses in the mid-Brand Boulevard area. “It would be a huge economic loss for Glendale and the downtown,” she said. Glendale attempted to safeguard the future of the Art Deco theater when it transferred its ownership from the redevelopment agency to the city in late January 2011. But under the law that dissolves redevelopment agencies such transfers must be reviewed by the state and could be deemed illegal, forcing those assets to be sold like others to generate revenue for schools, cities and counties. To stave off that possibility, Glickman and others are pushing for the legislature to pass a “carve out” exemption for the Alex and other cultural landmarks that would allow the city to gain permanent control of the venue and maintain its current relationship with Glendale Arts or have it sold to the nonprofit for a below market price. Currently, an exemption exists that allows various government agencies to gain control of roads, school buildings and other public buildings funded with redevelopment funds. However, Philip S. Lanzafame, Glendale’s chief assistant director of community development, said the law is unclear if government agencies would have to purchase those properties back or could simply assume ownership. Lanzafame said he’d recommend the city council, which is now the successor agency, take the position that the Alex Theatre falls into such a category and ask the oversight board and the state to allow the city to retain ownership. “It is kind of the heart and soul of the downtown,” he said. “If there is a show at the Alex Theatre everyone does better than when there is not.” Because successor agencies are required to maximize revenue in the sales, Glickman said she worries the theater could be sold to a private individual that would use the building for an office or investors that would limit the amount of community events to maximize profit. The theater’s façade, Glickman said, is the only aspect protected by its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. A spokesman for State Senator Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge)said the senator is looking into a cultural exemption and supports the continued operation of the Alex. But he added that the theater’s future is a decision that rests with the city of Glendale, which has undertaken the role of a successor agency. Through a portion of the property taxes gained from the central redevelopment project area, Glendale’s agency gave the Alex Theatre $415,000 annually for management — a deal that was set to expire in 2015. Glickman said her organization has been informed those funds should be secure through 2015, because the agreement was reached before the governor put forth his plan to end redevelopment agencies. Last fiscal year, the theater earned a surplus. Although without the subsidy, the Alex would have lost $368,403, an improvement from a loss of $419,305 for a year prior. There is a plan for the theater to achieve financial sustainability, but the uncertainty about the theater’s ownership has made it “difficult to go out to donors and say, ‘Would you be interested in investing in our organization?’” Glickman said.
Uncertain Fate for Theater
