CUPERTINO — After shuttering Silicon Valley’s iconic Flint Center for the Performing Arts, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District is seeking public input on some of the options being considered for replacing the facility,
It will hold a town hall meeting Tuesday to present its action plan and and initial concepts. The meeting starts 4 p.m. at De Anza College, in the Hinson Campus Center conference rooms A and B.
The district’s Board of Trustees voted in June to shut down the 2,400-seat theater, which opened in 1971, to avoid potential safety or liability issues while waiting for a full report on its condition. Officials suspect the center has had structural and building code issues for years. Rather than renovate the building, which it estimated could cost at least $50 million in seismic upgrades, renovations and upgrades to maker it more accessible for people with disabilities, the district chose to replace it with a new one.
The district has indicated the new facility should be more focused on student needs and has discussed a number of ideas, including a conference center, office space and faculty or student housing. The board is also considering creating a smaller performing arts space that could be modified, depending on the size and needs of individual events.
No date has been set for the building’s demolition. According to a project timeline, the district board won’t make a final decision about the nature and scope of the new project until December 2020. Construction would begin in the winter of 2023.