The sentiment seemed to be pretty clear at the April 30 groundbreaking ceremony of the CSUN Valley Performing Arts Center.

It was one of excitement, but also one that seemed say, it’s about time.

From members of the L.A. City Council to CSUN president Dr. Jolene Koester to actor/director and Master of Ceremonies Garry Marshall, it was clear this was a dream that began a long time ago, but one the school’s administration and many local politicians are pleased to see finally coming to fruition.

“With so much going on here (in the San Fernando Valley), we should have a place that’s here. It’s a wonderful thing,” said Marshall during the ceremony, who is the creator of such popular shows as” Happy Days” and “Mork and Mindy” and has directed numerous movies including “Pretty Woman”, “Runaway Bride” and the “Princess Diaries”.

Although construction has already begun at the facility, which will sit on the northwest corner of Nordhoff Street and Lindley Avenue, the official groundbreaking brought in some 400 people, from alumni to local business men and women to politicians.

“It’s been 30 years in the making,” said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who represents the second district and is a Kennedy High graduate.

Greuel brought up the Valley’s population of just under two million, a large area where its residents must go to Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, or even Thousand Oaks to get a dose of the arts.

“(The San Fernando Valley) would be the fifth biggest city in the country and it has been a without a cultural arts center,” Greuel said during the ceremony. “It (the Valley Performing Arts Center) is going to be the centerpiece.”

The estimated cost for the project is $125 million . Approximately $75 million has been put towards the Performing Arts Center through public funding, such as state bond measures. Another $21 million has been raised through private donations, though the goal for private funding is $50 million.

The Valley Performing Arts Center, which will seat 1700 people, is expected to be completed in 2010 and is 165,000 square feet, which would be roughly the size of the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. It is being designed by the Minneapolis-based architectural firm of Hammel, Green, and Abrahamson.

“The Valley Performing Arts Center is an ambitious project,” said Koester at the ceremony, who has been president of the university since 2000. “There are many people who told us this project could never happen. But here we are.”

abranam@thesfv.com; (818) 435-4091

**Caption Picture 1 Tatsuo Kumagai/Courtesy of CSUN The ceremonial first dirt is shoveled at the groundbreaking of the Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN. From left to right: L.A. City Council member Wendy Greuel; Gary Reetz of Hammel, Green, and Abrahamson, Inc., architects; Jaime Milne Rojek of HGA; Vice President for University Advancement Vance T. Peterson; Imagine the Arts Campaign vice chairman David Fleming; CSUN President Jolene Koester; master of ceremonies Garry Marshall; CSU Trustee Debra Farar; Curb College Dean Robert Bucker and City Council member Tony Cardenas. The Performing Arts Center is expected to cost $125 million.