Things had been quiet since El Centro Su Teatro closed on its new Santa Fe Drive property last spring, but this summer artistic director Anthony J. Garcia made some noise, celebrating his 35th anniversary as the cultural center's leader.

It began in July, when the Chicano Music Festival was held at the longtime Elyria site, where rain couldn't dampen visits by Sen. Ken Salazar, actor- singer Jesse Borrego and the parents of Don Cheadle, among others.

Almost no visible work has been done on the site at 251 S. Santa Fe Drive. Yes, most of the litter is gone from the parking lot, and there are new locks on the doors, but the bigger changes are unseen.

Su Teatro has hired Semple Brown Design, the architectural firm known for its theatrical projects, to retrofit and expand the former warehouse. "We're really in the design stage," Garcia says.

A recent environmental-impact study revealed that the substances dumped on the ground weren't hazardous. "If we want to, we don't really have a major cleanup," he says. "We could probably just cover it over and be fine."

The project was originally projected at $3.5 million, but these days Garcia is shooting for $5 million, which would enable the organization to pay off a $1.5 million loan from the city's Office of Economic Development. In addition to the loan, the theater is hoping for a $300,000 appropriations grant supported by Salazar.

Which leaves a whole lot of money left to raise. The capital campaign will officially begin in October, but these months before are when the glad-handing and persuasion take place as big-ticket donors are privately approached.

"People are receptive," Garcia says. "We haven't really had anybody go, 'This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard.' "

The group has received "some significant commitments," he says, but doesn't have a fixed budget yet. The company also hasn't committed to whether it will build additional space onto a potential 9,800 square feet in the back lot or how many theaters the building can hold.

In the meantime, Su Teatro is holding on to its space at 4725 High St. until there's a completion date on the new building. "I don't want us to get stuck without a building," Garcia says.

Su Teatro must begin mortgage payments by February 2009, which Garcia sees as the latest possible opening. "I think the construction can take six to eight months in terms of what we're talking about," he says.

Su Teatro isn't waiting for new bricks and mortar before setting out on ambitious new programming. Most intriguing is the development of a Christmas piece called Á Colorado en una Noche de Navidad, a collaboration with Texas folk singer Tish Hinojosa, working from her Christmas album Aquella Noche.

The season opens with A Bowl of Beings, a comedy written by the irreverent California troupe Culture Clash. In early 2007, look for Ollin, a new work by Zoot Suit co-creator Daniel Valdez that imagines the meeting of Cortez and Montezuma, and, as a final show, Garcia's play Little Hands Hold the Wind.

In addition to the main stage, Su Teatro launches a new program, in which the company will help develop scripts by younger writers. Borrego returns with Drive My Coche, and the company tours southern Colorado with Papi, Me and Cesar Chavez.

Lisa Bornstein is the theater critic. bornsteinl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5101