After expressing interest in buying the historic Santa Monica Civic Auditorium(Civic), the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is stepping aside while other organizations make offers on the property’s restoration and rehabilitation.
The City of Santa Monica owns the Civic that’s been moth-balled for a decade after being deemed seismically unsafe. Earlier this year the district shared its desire to purchase the property across from SAMOHI in order to turn it into a gym and sports facility for the high school. Now the district has announced it will wait while other entities announce proposals.
A few Santa Monica organizations have expressed interest in building affordable housing on the site or restoring the building as an event facility. While SMMUSD will not submit a proposal at this time, the District says it is still interested in pursuing the purchase of the Civic, should another entity not surface.
Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton said, “We truly believe that the purchase of the Civic by SMMUSD is a win-win for our students and the community with our plans to maintain the landmark designation and rehabilitate the deteriorating facility to its glory as a performance, event and sports venue.”
According to SMMUSD spokesperson Gail Pinsker, if the district is able to buy the landmark auditorium and adjacent land, Malibu will “not bear any cost or responsibility for any aspect of the project.” That’s because voters of both cities in 2018 each overwhelmingly approved two separate bond measures for school improvements in each city.