BREA : Council to Consider Hiring Proposal

A proposal to hire a landscape architect and a design artist for the proposed Brea Community Center will go before the City Council today.

The council will consider a staff recommendation to hire Meyer & Associates for landscaping design services and Richard Posner to do so-called conceptual designs for the center.

In a report to the council, which is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m., City Manager Frank Benest said the recommendation is to spend $45,000 for the landscaping services and $42,000 for the conceptual designs.

Benest said that the money would be taken from the $500,000 allocated during the current fiscal year for the Community Center project.

Last month, the council picked LPA Inc. as primary architect for the $5-million project to be built on a 7.5-acre, city-owned lot at the corner of Randolph Avenue and Madison Way. LPA was the chief architect for John Wayne Airport’s new passenger terminal.

Once completed, the Community Center will house a gymnasium, an aerobics room, a community hall, multipurpose classrooms, a teen center and a facility for toddlers, officials said.

An advisory committee that includes members of the public is assisting the design team that is planning the new center.

Benest said that Meyer & Associates was picked from three finalists.

Members of the advisory committee toured park facilities designed by the finalists. They were impressed by Northwood Community Park in Irvine, designed by Meyer & Associates, and subsequently recommended the company for the landscaping job.

Posner, a graduate of Cal State Fullerton, was selected from 10 finalists, Benest said. He has designed buildings in California and two other states.