The next time you want to see a community theater show, you might have a new option outside of the famed San Jose Performing Arts Center or the increasingly-cramped Milpitas Community Center.
The Milpitas City Council moved ahead 4-0 on Tuesday to consider establishing a performing arts center. The venue would be home to community theater performances and other visual arts.
Although a site hasn’t been settled on by the Council as of yet, councilmembers floated the idea of a new facility adjacent to the Milpitas Public Library, among other places.
Different ideas thrown around on Tuesday by Councilmember Bob Nuñez included an outdoor amphitheater and a partnership with the Milpitas Historical Society for a city exhibit, although none of the ideas have been approved as of yet.
The move follows two separate recommendations from the Council — one made in November, 2019, by Mayor Rich Tran and a joint request made in October, 2019, by Councilmembers Nuñez and Anthony Phan — supporting a community theater at the Milpitas Civic Center or at one of the Milpitas Unified School District’s facilities.
A Milpitas performing arts center would mirror similar community spaces in surrounding cities like Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, and would allow community theater groups to host larger and more elaborate productions and performances.
A subsequent study on the matter has been authorized by the Council, to be carried out by city officials. The size and scope of the theater, including the size of the building, its location, and what it would look like, are still under consideration, pending the completion of the study.
A completion date for the study was not set.
