In The News
Wheaton looks to make theater grand again
by Jim Jaworski,Trib Local, February 13, 2009
The Wheaton Grand Theater is showing its age.
As time has worn on, the 84-year-old building is not as glamorous as it once was. But a proposed $14 million restoration effort has lead some to see the theater as a future cultural landmark and financial engine for downtown, with others not as confident a restored theater can attract significant crowds.
But the project has drawn Ray Shepardson, a well-known theater restoration expert who has completed similar projects across the country.
"I have never worked on a project in a neighborhood this cool," said Shepardson, who, along with Tim Rater, is overseeing the project.
A veteran of theater restoration, he plans to make the Wheaton Grand Theater grand once again.
A long history, and new a beginning
The theater opened in 1925 with an estimated 1,700 attending on opening night.
But as the decades wore on, the theater's interior and exterior began to suffer and, in recent years, became a venue for indie rock shows.
But interest began building to restore the classic building, and in 2006, with the exception of weekly Antioch Community Church services and monthly DuPage Film Club meetings, it shut its doors.
Shepardson became involved in the project four years ago. While the Wheaton Grand Theater is smaller than most other projects he has worked on the past four decades, he said he is attracted to the location's potential. Shepardson has headed theater restoration projects in Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Los Angeles and other cities.
He is looking at more than 300 performances a year, with a capacity of 1,150. This has lead some to be concerned about parking. He said it may get a bit crowded, but said many popular shows will be on Sundays, when downtown is typically empty.
"I think we may have oversold it," he said. "It's not the United Center."
Shepardson said a renewed theater would host variety, comedy and musical performances. Basically anything but Broadway-style productions, as those would require stage improvements that would be too expensive.
"Well, I would like to see it open in my lifetime," Shepardson said with a chuckle "If everything goes according to plan, we could have it open by fall of 2011."
But whether that happens is a bit murky as some are concerned that the theater would not be a big enough draw to be worth the $14 million-plus price tag.
Shepardson is completely confident the theater will be popular enough to pay for the refurbishing and be self-sustaining.
But one question lingers on the minds of critics.
What if it isn't?
Footing the bill
There is no question that the project has its fair share of skeptics, especially concerning a proposed financial backstop where the city would pledge up to $250,000 a year for the next 20 years if the theater cannot meet its debt obligations on its own. Some residents have said they are being too optimistic, while some city officials seem skeptical toward committing city money as a safety net.
But supporters said they have structured a system in which the city would not have to pay anything unless numerous other revenue-generating concepts fail to produce enough cash to cover the debt payments.
The first would be through ticket sales, with a proposed idea that a $5 fee for theater restoration be added to the face value of the ticket. Shepardson said the theater would have to have 300,000 annual attendees to meet the estimated $1.5 million in annual debt payments. This would include about 200,000 paid tickets and 100,000 free or promotional tickets, which would also have the $5 restoration fee.
The second concept would be a capital campaign to raise cash. The third would be through a proposed extension of an existing special service area that would allocate about 1 percent of property taxes in the downtown area for the theater's restoration and debt payment.
Supporters are insistent that the business model, which has been used by Shepardson in previous projects, would generate enough revenue to cover the bond payments.
"These are pros who have done this before," said council member Liz Corry, a vocal advocate of the project. "This is not a fly-by-night operation. If you are going to hire people to do something like this, these are the guys."
But not everyone is convinced of that optimistic assessment. One critic of the concept of the financial backstop is Mayor Michael Gresk, who said he is not opposed to the project in theory, but is simply cautious about the idea that taxpayers in Wheaton would have to pay up if the theater isn't as successful as supporters suggest it will be.
"Make no mistake; this is a great idea," he said. "But is this the function of [city government?]"
His main concern is that an unsuccessful theater would take money away from the primary obligations of the city, specifically public safety, like fire and police, and infrastructure, like street repairs.
But the concept of a municipality maintaining some kind of financial responsibility for refurbished fine arts centers is not unheard of. For example, the Genesee Theater in Waukegan-a 2004 project lead by Shepardson himself-is owned by the city.
But supporters have said the positives outweigh any potential negatives, believing a vibrant theater will not only revitalize downtown and be a financial plus for nearby business, but will also create jobs in a struggling economy.
"Since when we were opposed to that?" Shepardson said, adding that he estimates 50 to 60 jobs will be created through the operation of the theater.
Park District Director Michael Benard said he believes the theater can be self-sustaining and pointed to additional business and sales tax revenue theatergoers would bring to the downtown area.
"It would certainly have a positive impact on the community," he said. "I'm generally an optimistic guy, but I've been looking at this for two years and with the right backstops, it can work."
The theater is currently owned by the Grand Theater Corporation, a not-for-profit 501C3 organization, but will be purchased by the park district once the bonds need to be issued. Profits exceeding the debt payments and operating costs would go to the park district.
Public asked for feedback
Wheaton officials will hold a public hearing for residents and business owners at 7 p.m. July 27 at city hall, 303 W. Wesley St. The hearing will cover the special service area specifically, but Gresk is encouraging all interested residents to attend to learn more about the project.
"We need to know what [the public] thinks," he said, adding that information is also available on city, park district and theater Web sites.
So far, Gresk said he has received mixed feedback from constituents. In general, residents near downtown have been supportive while those in the rest of the city have raised a mixture of questions and concerns.
While the mayor thinks a refurbished theater can be a positive for downtown, he, and many others involved in the process, said many details need to be ironed out and many hurdles need to be crossed before the project is approved.
"If successful, this would be a huge boom for downtown," Gresk said. "But the question we all need to ask is 'at what cost?'"