Building Trades News

Orange County Performing Arts Center Opens New Concert Hall

click to enlarge With the help of the Building Trades crafts, the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Sept. 15 debuted its new $200 million, 2,000-seat Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and 500-seat multi-use Samueli Theater and education center. These new venues, along with the South Coast Repertory and a visual arts center now in the works will be known as the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The concert hall’s opening in the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s tenth anniversary year helps the region fulfill its vision as a world-class cultural arts destination. The center for the arts will be joined to the existing Orange County Performing Arts Center, with its 2,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and 500-seat Founders Hall, by an outdoor plaza. The center’s addition makes it one of the largest in the nation and one of the most versatile complexes in the country dedicated to the arts. click to enlarge Fluor Constructors oversaw construction management of the 260,000 square foot concert hall. The center will celebrate the opening with a 6-week festival of great artists and world premieres. In the weeks leading up to the opening, the center also recognized the role the building trades played in the accomplishment. In its new home, the Pacific Symphony Pops performed a rehearsal concert for the construction workers who built the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on Aug 27, 2006. Real Estate developer Henry Segerstrom, who transformed the region’s agricultural fields into an upscale shopping Mecca, donated the land and $50 million for the expansion. Microchip billionaire Henry Samueli of Broadcom Corp. gave $10 million and his founding partner Henry T. Nicholas III donated $3.8 million. Paul Folino of Emulex Corp. donated $1 million. The expansion reflects the transformation of Orange County from a bedroom community in the shadow of Los Angeles to a vibrant, dynamic region in its own right. It also shows the rise of the tech industry as a fuel in the county’s economy. click to enlarge “I think it’s an important evolution,” said Samueli of the role of high tech companies in contributing to the community. “You need fresh blood to come in. We’re trying to make a statement there, trying to pull in in the next generation to take over for the Segerstroms.” Samueli also owns the Anaheim Ducks hockey franchise. With the new building, the arts district will offer seven performances stages, two more than the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles.

 

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