Irvine Builder Wins Contract to Expand and Renovate Local Theater Facility

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-Snyder Langston, an Irvine-based developer and builder, has been awarded a $19-million contract to expand and renovate the South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa. The firm will provide both pre-construction and construction services for the project, which is scheduled to begin in fall 2001.

Designed by Cesar Pelli and Associates of Connecticut, SCR’s expansion and facelift include a new, 336-seat theater, conceived as a quarter-sized replica of a typical stage on Broadway or at London’s West End. This third theater will complement SCR’s existing 507-seat main stage and the 161-seat second stage, which will be reconfigured as a 99-seat house. The expansion will double the theater’s size to 78,000 sf, with seating capacity increasing 50%

“The theater will receive an entirely new entry and lobby, and the exterior of the existing building will be remodeled,” says Deryl Robinson, director of pre-construction for Snyder Langston. “New architectural features will update the façade, and the three theaters will look like one very contemporary building that is elegant, yet not overly extravagant. The foyer and lobby will be enlarged significantly, connecting the three theaters and making way for a dramatic, 200-foot curved, glass-wall entrance. Construction will be steel frame on pre-cast concrete piles with concrete-filled metal deck floors and roof.”

Plans also call for a new outdoor theater plaza, replacement of the existing fountain and a 70-foot lighted sculptural tower in place of the theatre’s marquee.

Orange County-based McLarand Vasquez Emslek and Partners is the executive architect on the project. SCR’s expansion is part of a multi-faceted effort to transform the South Coast Metro area of Orange County into a cultural complex of national stature. The year-long project is scheduled for completion by October 2002.