College breaks ground on $80 million performing arts center

NORWALK – Cerritos College officials, Board of Trustees and community members celebrated a groundbreaking for the new Performing Arts Center on March 6.

Cerritos College President/ Superintendent Dr. Jose L. Fierro thanked the community for supporting the bond measures, and announced a planned gift of $500,000 for the Performing Arts Center by Dr. Connie Mayfield, professor of music, and her mother Lois Mayfield. The donation will be used toward the purchase of grand pianos for the Center.

The $80-million project is funded by Measure G Bond dollars and will be located in the center of the campus immediately south of Falcon Square. The 70,000-gross-square-foot facility will replace the College’s aging Burnight Theatre.

The new Performing Arts Center will provide a 450-seat state-of-the-art theatre, a smaller black box performance area, and support spaces. The building will also house the Music Department’s instructional labs, lecture halls, band rooms, practice rooms, and faculty offices.

Functioning as a cultural hub for the campus and greater communities, the new Performing Arts Center will provide a creative learning environment for students in the theatre arts and music programs, and an entertainment venue for the community.

Construction is expected to be completed in September 2021.