The long-awaited, $75 million restoration of the 93-year-old Uptown Theatre — among the highest profile historic rehabs in the city’s history — will begin next summer, Chicago’s Community Development Commission is to be told Tuesday.
Along with approving the public financing elements of the restoration for partners Jam Productions and Farpoint Development, the commission — its members were appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel — also is expected to approve the sale (for $1) of a 31,000-square-foot, city-owned parking lot at 1030 W. Lawrence Ave. in order to “support theater operations.”
At the hearing Tuesday, the firms involved in the restoration of the theater at 4816 N. Broadway will be revealed; many have worked before with Scott Goodman, the principal of Farpoint Development.
The lead architects of the restoration will be the young firm of Lamar Johnson Collaborative, whose prior work with Goodman includes the restoration of 600 W. Chicago Ave. The architecture firm, founded by Lamar and Lisa Johnson, is now part-owned by Clayco Inc., an integrated design-build firm.
Lamar Johnson Collaborative will work with Schuler Shook, a well-known national theater consultant whose previous projects include the historic Palace Theatre in St. Paul., Minn., the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn and the Black Ensemble Theatre in Chicago.
“We are more than excited,” said George Halik, a principal at Lamar Johnson, noting that he’d been working on the Uptown project for more than 10 years under various different plans. “This plan is the right way to go. We’re working with the parameters of the existing building. And we’re putting the money where it will be of most use, both structurally and visually.”
Halik said the intent was to install a new marquee that would replicate the original, which is different from the more recent one with which most Chicagoans are most familiar.
Others on the team include MacRostie Historic Advisors, specialists in using tax credits as part of historic theater renovations, and Forefront Structural Engineers. The facade will be restored by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates. WMA Consulting Engineers will work on the building’s mechanical guts, and Conrad Schmitt Studios will consult on the historic finishes needed for a Rapp and Rapp movie palace brought back to its former glory.
Goodman called the Uptown “the most culturally important project we have ever undertaken.” Jam co-founder Jerry Mickelson referenced the high cost of the restoration and the need for government support, but said that “future generations will not forgive those who do not save this magnificent palace, because a venue like the Uptown Theatre will never be built again.”
The city said it was confident that the project had an adequate budget, even though historic restorations are notorious for the likelihood of cost overruns.
Daniel P. Coffey, the noted Chicago architect who worked on the renovation of such theaters as the Chicago Theatre and the Oriental Theatre, said the Lamar Johnson Collaborative was not known for renovating historic theaters but praised the quality of the firm’s work. Coffey also said he believed $75 million would be “more than enough money” to complete the renovation, given that the Uptown work did not involve expanding or rebuilding the stagehouse, as in many renovations of historic theaters.
As previously reported in the Tribune, the $75 million restoration includes $13 million in so-called tax increment financing assistance. Other city funds include $14 million in property assessed clean energy financing and $3 million in Adopt-a-Landmark Funds. The bulk of the rest of money is to come both from investments by Farpoint and Jam, and from a commercial bank loan.
“The Uptown Theatre is more than a theater. It’s an iconic community anchor,” Emanuel said in a statement. “The restored building will be the centerpiece of the new, revitalized entertainment district that will attract hundreds of thousands of show-goers while promoting continued economic growth for the surrounding neighborhood.”
Although the seating capacity of the Uptown will be about 4,100, the restoration plan includes the ability to remove seats on the main floor, allowing as many as 5,800 to attend events in the theater, even more than in its heyday. Interior improvements are expected to include new elevators, concessions and other building amenities, with exterior work focused on the repair of the building’s masonry and terra cotta along with improved marquees and related signage.
The Uptown has sat vacant and mostly closed to the public since a concert by the J. Geils Band on Dec, 19, 1981. The planning of its restoration has seen many false starts and dead ends, but also relentless long-term lobbying by lovers of the theater, including the volunteer group known as the Friends of the Uptown.
The city said Monday that the project was not only going ahead for sure, but would create 200 short-term construction jobs, as well as 200 long-term positions once the theater opens.
Current plans call for the Uptown to open again to the public in early 2021.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
