Months after a celebratory groundbreaking ceremony, Guadalupe's City Council has decided to cancel restoration efforts at the Royal Theater due to escalating costs and budget constraints.
The 85-year-old building has been sitting empty for more than three decades, red-tagged after a fire in 1991.
Last December, the City held a groundbreaking ceremony, celebrating the start of the theater's restoration, but those plans came to a halt at the latest Guadalupe City Council meeting.
When KSBY covered the Royal Theater project in November 2025, the total cost was estimated at $13.4 million, funded primarily through federal and state grants.
The funding included $5 million from the California Arts Council and $4.8 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. In June, the City launched a capital campaign to raise the final $3 million needed.
According to City Administrator David Trujillo, the estimated construction costs have continued to climb, and there simply isn't enough money.
He said they have not touched the $4.8 million federal grant and have only used a portion of the $5 million from the Arts Council.
"But now with the amount that we pay for construction, we have roughly $1.5 million, $2 million of that left," Trujillo said.
He told KSBY if they had moved forward with the restoration, the City would have needed to use some of the general funds to cover the project, which would leave the City in a deficit.
While Trujillo said they researched alternatives, all roads led to the same conclusion: the project would lead to cuts elsewhere in the city.
"In order to maintain a positive cash flow, we would have to start eliminating either staff positions or a majority of all services that the City offers. Those services are things like public safety, emergency responders," Trujillo explained.
As of now, the plan is to preserve the building and not restore it.
