SFSU Unveils Plans For Massive Performing Arts Center

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Construction was slated to begin this year on a massive, state-of-the-art facility on the campus of San Francisco State University.

Plans for the Mashouf Performing Arts Center were unveiled Thursday, and it was also revealed that construction would take place in three phases, at a cost of more than $250 million.

The cost of the project was to be covered with general obligation bonds and private donations.

KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports: 

"Capital becomes available, construction costs are low. So now is a really responsible moment to move forward to build infrastructure for the future," reasoned Kurt Daw, Dean of the College of Creative Arts at SFSU.

The center will feature cutting edge technology, high definition television studios, and a 1,200-seat theater.

"We're proud that we think we are the oldest institution anywhere that combines the media arts, the visual arts and the performing arts into one unit. But absolutely, that blend is going to be much tighter than it has ever been," Daw declared. "I think it's absolutely the center of our vision for the future. We really think that the arts are transforming towards a much more interdisciplinary view."

"We want to keep pace with the future of the arts for the next 50 years in the way that we've been a trendsetter in the last 50 years," Daw summed up the goal of the center.

The center was being named for businessman Manny Mashouf, a graduate of SFSU who went on to launch the Bebe clothing chain. Mashouf also contributed $10 million to the university for construction of the center in 2007, the largest single gift to date for the campus.

The new facility was designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture.

"It's a place where, the kind of space where we all see each other which is I think is increasingly important in our culture, and is very much the goal of the building as a whole," described architect Michael Maltzan. "Hub-like moments that include outdoor courtyard spaces, more impromptu gathering spaces in the building."

"It is a building that is deeply exciting for me, personally, as an architect," he said.

The 242,150 sq. ft. center will be anchored at the corner of Lake Merced and Font Blvds. An estimated date for completion of construction was not immediately released.

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