HAYWARD — A pizza parlor, a deli, a coffee shop, a Polynesian-themed restaurant and

42 urban-style condominiums have been added to the mix of development that could surround downtown's much-anticipated movie theater.

Excitement surrounding the Cinema Place complex continues to build as Dublin-based developer Blake Hunt Ventures prepares to break ground on the 12-screen theater in late April. But also building up is the redevelopment project's cost to Hayward taxpayers.

Later this month, Blake Hunt Ventures is expected to ask Hayward City Council members to help foot the bill for Cinema Place with a $1.5 million subsidy, City Manager Jesus Armas confirmed Friday.

If approved, the $1.5 million contribution will be in addition to the roughly $10 million the city already has spent to buy the land at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and B Street, tear down the former Albertsons store there and construct an adjacent 237-space public parking garage that is scheduled to be completed in June.

Armas said Hayward's redevelopment fund, which is kept in a different pot from the general fund that pays for day-to-day city operations, can handle the extra cost.

"Over the years, we've been careful about where we've committed our resources," Armas said.

Construction costs have escalated nationwide since the project was originally proposed, and city officials say delays were caused when Texas-based Cinemark Holdings acquired San Rafael-based Century Theaters in October. Blake Hunt Ventures, which already had an agreement settled with Century, had to resubmit its plans to the new owner.

Jim Wright, Blake Hunt's senior vice president, declined to talk about the money request until it officially appears before council members in late March.

But he said his company is gearing up to begin construction and is pleased with the restaurants it has already been able to attract to the center. Along with the multiplex, Cinema Place has space for up to nine different small restaurants or stores fronting B Street, across from Buffalo Bill's Brewpub.

Already signed up to open are growing chain franchises Saxbys Coffee and Red Brick Pizza, and a restaurant called Tiki Grill, Wright revealed last week. The developer also has signed an agreement with a new deli chain that remains undisclosed because the business has not yet launched.

But perhaps the most surprising downtown news is that a Redwood City-based company, Matteson Realty, wants to buy and manage Cinema Place after it is constructed and build a

42-unit condominium complex nearby Main and C streets.

The condos, if built, would be next to the Green Shutter Hotel building, across C Street from the main Hayward Fire Station. Currently, the site is occupied by a parking lot and a small building that city administrators have described as "nondescript and nonhistoric."

John Baer, a senior vice president for Matteson, said he believes new downtown housing will mesh well with the future Cinema Place. The design for the condo project was unveiled to some city officials last week.

"We were looking for cues from the older buildings downtown," Baer said. "We didn't want to make this appear too classically residential, with pitched roofs and petunias in front. We wanted it to blend more with the commercial surroundings."

As for the Cinema Place project, Baer said it might be too early to predict what type of businesses choose to move into the remaining spaces, since many companies like to see a project built before they make a commitment.

The cinema and surrounding restaurants and stores won't actually be ready to open until late 2008.

City Councilman Bill Ward said Tuesday that he would love to see Cinema Place's biggest retail vacancy — a 7,000-square-foot, second-floor corner unit with a covered deck overlooking B Street — turn into a music venue along the lines of Yoshi's, the Oakland jazz club and restaurant.