Will Chicago Community Trust Solve the Midsize Theater Problem?
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Groups planning to use the site will have a major say in determining the location finally chosen, sources say. The Hubbard Street Dance Company, Ballet Chicago, the Dance Center of Columbia College, Chamber Music Chicago, and Music of the Baroque have all been working on the project.
Sources present at the meetings say that some arts organizations involved in the discussions have expressed concerns about the Dearborn Station site. One is that public transportation is too sparse in that area; supporters believe there is time for the city to buttress transportation service to the site before the project reaches fruition, in about two years, Others favoring Dearborn Station argue that the South Loop will continue to grow in popularity with the opening of the Harold Washington Library and all the new housing that’s gone up there recently.
The source said the Goodman board has been quietly exploring other sites; one possibility is the nearby vacant site of the former Woods movie theater. But such a site would not come cheaply either: the Goodman would have to buy the property, worth in excess of $10 million, and then build its own complex from scratch.
AIDS Theater Branches Out
Last month the Rosenthal-Newton restaurant group took over a large space on the lower level of North Pier Terminal formerly occupied by the defunct Boat Club. Within days the space was redecorated and rechristened Chris & Abe’s, a quick move that brought the new operators a rent break and elicited sighs of relief from North Pier executives who didn’t want a vacant space in the complex. Chris & Abe’s, a sports bar and restaurant, was intended to be a temporary filler while Dan Rosenthal and Cathy Newton finalized details of an American cuisine restaurant scheduled to open in the space next spring. But the response has been so strong that they have opted to retain and possibly expand Chris & Abe’s with live folk music and/or comedy on certain nights of the week.
