In The News
Grand Plans
Restoring Historic Wheaton Theater Once Again a Hot Topic
by Hank Beckman and Staff Reports, Wheaton Sun, July 17, 2009
A public hearing will take place later this month concerning financing for a project to restore the Wheaton Grand Theater.
The facility, in Wheaton's downtown, opened in 1925. However, the theater has been vacant since 2006. The Grand Theater Corp., a nonprofit organization that owns the theater building, has been working to raise funds to renovate the theater and turn it into a premium entertainment venue in DuPage County.
A piece of the financial puzzle for restoring the Wheaton Grand Theater will be the subject of an upcoming public meeting.
While some in Wheaton see a restored theater as a magnet for out-of-towners with money to spend, others worry about taxpayers being on the hook for a project they believe mirrors too many others in the area.
With the Paramount Arts Center in Aurora, the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn, the Rialto in Joliet and the Wentz Concert Hall at North Central College in Naperville, among others, some see the local entertainment market as already being glutted.
Ray Shepardson, project manager for the Grand Theater renovation, said that's not the case.
"There are 2 million people within 15 miles," he said about potential customers for the theater.
As for entertainment for the projected 1,150-seat venue, Shepardson mentioned the likes of Harry Connick Jr., Liza Minnelli and the Smothers Brothers as acts he would like to book.
The situation in Wheaton may be a case of deja vu for local theater lovers. In nearby Lombard, the DuPage Theater was the center of a years-long battle between preservationists on one side and residents concerned about their tax money on the other.
The theater was demolished in 2007 after years of attempts to restore the 1928 landmark.
In the end, the situation just got "divisive and ugly," Shepardson said.
He noted that once a historic venue is lost, it is gone forever.
"They had a wonderful opportunity there and a wonderful theater," Shepardson said. "It was really sad."
Talking points
The proposed renovation was discussed at last week's Wheaton City Council meeting. Plans are in the works to provide a firm financial basis for the restoration, but not everyone in Wheaton is sold on them.
The council unanimously passed an ordinance July 6 providing for a public hearing concerning Special Service Area 7, a 20-year special taxing area that will have as part of its purpose to provide insurance against economic uncertainty for the rehab project.
"I'm concerned about the impact it will have on the Wheaton taxpayer," Ron Beran told the council.
Beran works as a commercial lender and is leery of the operating plan put forward by the Wheaton Grand Corp., which will operate the theater for its proposed owner, the Wheaton Park District.
Noting that the corporation's estimates are for 85 percent attendance at a variety of different entertainment events, Beran pointed out that the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage only draws about 56 percent.
Beran called for the council to have a "plan B" in place before approving the project, and said there was "not a lot of benefit to the Wheaton taxpayer."
The public meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. July 27 in the Wheaton City Council Chambers, will examine a levy on the approximately 320 taxpayers -- primarily businesses -- that make up the general Downtown Wheaton Business District. The boundaries are somewhat irregular, but essentially extend to Karlskoga Avenue on the north, Reber Street on the east, south to Illinois Avenue and west to West Street.
Currently the district property owners pay into Special Service Area 6, but that expires in 2011.
While the new district's revenue will go to the Downtown Wheaton Association for development and promotional expenses for the downtown area, it will also function as a backstop in case the theater revenue falls short of covering the debt obligations the park district incurs for the project.
The restoration project has it supporters. Derek Bromstead likened the project to the railroad that contributed to the development of Wheaton.
"This is a modern-day railroad," he said. "It will bring commerce and people to downtown Wheaton."
Bromstead said that while there might be risks associated with the venture, his own business, Genghis Grill, A Mongolian Stir-Fry, took a chance on downtown Wheaton and succeeded.
Bonnie McLaren of the Downtown Wheaton Association agreed, saying, "It's an important first step in this process."
Shepardson strongly defended the restoration plan.
"We can pay for ourselves and create a positive cash flow for the city," he said in a telephone interview.
He said that comparisons to the McAninch Center were misleading because many of the Wheaton Grand's ticket sales will be in the form of subscriptions, where patrons purchase a block of tickets for several shows.