The city is fast tracking plans to reopen a version of the
Granada Theater, a move that would take a minimum of three years to
realize, according to city officials and commissioned
consultants.
MORGAN HILL
The city is fast tracking plans to reopen a version of the Granada Theater, a move that would take a minimum of three years to realize, according to city officials and commissioned consultants.
City officials originally planned to assemble the $20 million in properties the Redevelopment Agency purchased into one large, mixed-use development, akin to San Jose’s upscale shopping and restaurant drag Santana Row.
Now, the city has the crumbling housing market and the failure of Measure H – the city council’s attempt to make mixed-use housing possible downtown by adding 500 residential units unfettered by the city’s growth control system – to consider.
So instead of focusing on one grand plan for Morgan Hill’s own Santana Row, officials have prioritized and come up with reopening the Granada Theater – either at its current location at 17440 Monterey Road or as part of three other possible mixed-use projects – as the number one goal for now.
Four options were presented at a downtown plan workshop Tuesday night. The first is to rehabilitate the existing Granada Theater. The second option is to rebuild the Granada as part of a larger mixed-use project combining retail, office and a theater on the block the theater now shares with the Downtown Mall. The last two options are to build a smaller mixed-use project on the southeast corner of Monterey and Second Street, with a theater either on the ground floor (option three) or the second floor (option four). Staff prefers the first and last options: renovating the Granada or building a new downtown theater on the second floor of a mixed-use project.
Rehabilitating the Granada Theater, which closed in 2003, would cost about $4.4 million, according to the presentation. The cost would mostly involve bringing the building up to code with electrical and theater equipment and be paid for through the Redevelopment Agency. Then, once renovations were complete, the city would lease the two- or three-screen theater to an operator. The benefit to this option is that the city would pay for the construction and therefore wouldn’t need to entice a developer to build it.
The fourth option is to build a small mixed-use development on the corner of Monterey and Second, which would include a five-screen theater on the second floor of a structure that included office and retail spaces. Assistant to the City Manager for Downtown Redevelopment David Heindel said he felt confident that a smaller project like this would interest a developer, who would take on the financial investment, instead of the city.
BookSmart owner Brad Jones was skeptical about these two plans. For one thing, he’d like to see a more adaptable theater structure that could be used for live performances as well as movie screenings.
“It doesn’t make sense to recreate something we already have when we could have something we don’t have,” Jones said. The city has three live performance venues now: the Community Playhouse, which seats about 185 people; the Community and Cultural Center’s amphitheater, which seats about 300 people but has technical considerations because it’s outside; and the Ann Sobrato Performing Arts Center, which seats 350, but is not downtown and is confined to school district-sanctified events.
Second, if the city moved forward with plans for a two- or five-screen cinema house in three years, Jones said he doesn’t see why the city couldn’t do minimal renovations to open the existing Granada in the meantime.
Director of Business Assistance and Housing Services Garrett Toy said the city did invest between $15,000 to $20,000 in minor roof and bathroom repairs as well as bringing the sign up to functioning status.
“These repairs are pretty minor compared to a renovation you’d have to do to make it a state-of-the-art, new theater,” he said. Toy said the council prefers a long-term, complete renovation over minimal repairs just to get it open.
Morgan Hill Downtown Association Executive Director Jorge Briones said he’d like the city to focus on what kind of theater the new or old Granada would be, since that would set the stage for what to build or renovate moving forward.
“Second run, indy films, first run or a mixed-use theater – that was never an answer that was provided,” Briones said. “I just think that’s really important. I don’t think you can go into the full process unless you address specifically what it’s going to be.”
Briones agreed with Jones that a multi-purpose theater would suit downtown well. The Community Playhouse on Monterey at Dunne Avenue doesn’t accommodate all the needs that a larger theater, with 500 seats, could, Briones said. Jones, one of the promoters for the popular monthly stand-up event the Downtown Comedy Club, said the event frequently sells out at its current location in the playhouse. They aren’t able to grow the event because there’s no room for a bigger crowd that would come with bigger names, Jones said.
The council will likely make a decision on the four options at its Feb. 4 meeting. Council members and staff have said there will be plenty of room for public opinion to be gathered at workshops.
To view the presentation on the different options, visit morganhill.ca.gov.
