Plans Approved for 2nd Edwards Theater

A key part of the city’s new downtown, a second Edwards movie theater, has been approved by the Brea Planning Commission.

The first Edwards Theater, with 12 screens and a marquis along Birch Street, opened last year. The second theater, which will add 10 screens and 2,200 seats, will have a much different look, City Planner Jay Trevino said.

“The entrance will be in the middle of a row of shop spaces, like theaters used to be on main streets in every town across the country,” he said. “It will be a much different experience.”

With one theater, a parking structure, some shopping areas and housing already completed, downtown Brea is now seeing the results of a $125-million rehabilitation, which began in the 1980s.

Additional shops and restaurants will complete the outdoor pedestrian-oriented mall.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Trevino said. “We’ve been working on this and refining our efforts for years, and now we’re starting to see the hard work paying off.”