GROSSMONT COLLEGE TO OPEN NEW ARTS CENTER

Grossmont College officials on Thursday celebrated the finish of the longawaited Performing and Visual Arts Center on the school’s El Cajon campus.

Although the center is not open to the public yet, a group of college and district administrators, students and construction representatives took part in the event marking the center’s completion. Attendees were invited to tour the lobby and main performance hall as well as view a student art exhibit in the Hyde Art Gallery’s new home inside the center.

The center is not expected to open to the public until next spring, district officials said.

The venue will serve as a learning laboratory for performing arts students, including technicians and designers, and school officials say they hope it will be a beacon for the community as a performance venue.

Interim Grossmont College President Marsha Gable said the center could expand exposure to the arts for East County residents unable to attend performances and art exhibits in central and downtown San Diego,

The $44 million center is 39,000 square feet and has a dramatic steel and glass exterior with a soaring roofline.

It has a 390-seat multipurpose theater, an orchestra pit and balcony. With dressing rooms, a green room, a costume area and a makeup classroom, the theater will serve as a laboratory for student performers, technicians and designers in the school’s Theatre Arts program.