Cultivation study underway to determine funding feasibility
By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
It feels like it’s been a long-time coming and possibly the best-kept secret in town, but the announcement finally came late Monday, March 4.
The Elmhurst Centre for Performing Arts (ECPA) has announced that its proposed 50,000 square-foot multi-stage performing arts center will be built at 109-119 W. First Street, right across from the Metra train depot in the heart of downtown Elmhurst.
It has long been a goal of the ECPA Board of Directors, to have the entertainment hub in the heart of Elmhurst, accessible by public transportation to Chicago and surrounding areas, and just a short walk from the Addison Street parking deck. The announced location makes the theater accessible and places visitors right in the midst of Elmhurst’s downtown restaurants and shops.
“ECPA will be a great addition to our City,” said Mayor Steve Morley. “A quality performing arts center will add a cultural venue to support local, regional and national artists as well as offering a resource for other public and private events. ECPA also provides an important piece to our expanding downtown, all of which brings economic value to our thriving community.”
The Board has positive reaction
The Independent was able to drop in on the ECPA Board’s latest meeting to speak directly with Jeff Budgell, Laura Michaud, Doug Peterson and former Elmhurst Mayor Tom Marcucci,
“We are thrilled to have secured the land and architectural renderings for the performing arts center,” said Budgell. “The community has provided tremendous financial and enthusiastic support, which continues to propel this long-term project forward. We move now to another important milestone to identify funding.”
“The location is going to be a great addition to the City, it’s going to add to the vibrancy of downtown, which has really been growing lately,” Peterson said. “It is going to be something that will draw younger people moving in to the new [residential units].”
“We’re going to be able to serve the artistic community like we’ve never been able to serve it before,” Michaud said. “This is a part of an amazing process to groom our artists who live in town, including people involved in [local theater groups such as the Elmhurst Children’s Theatre (ECT), Greenman Theatre Group, etc.].
“The students at York High School are being accepted into outstanding colleges these days and they will have more reason to move back to the area if we offer this [facility]. It’s serving a need.”
“This particular use fits in with the City’s Comprehensive Plan,” said Marcucci. “This is another jewel in Elmhurst’s crown that will serve us well. In other communities that have wonderful performing arts centers or similar facilities, [officials] have found them to create an economic engine for their downtown by providing first, a facility for our local community which will draw thousands of people a year; and, secondly, it helps put Elmhurst on the cultural map and makes us a true destination site.
“This particular site was chosen by the Board after speaking with a lot of people from around the Chicago metropolitan area. When you consider that Elmhurst runs from York & Grand to York & Roosevelt, this location meets the needs of those we would like to see use the facility. Artists need to load and unload, they want to park close by. If they’ve got to haul equipment like keyboards, drums, etc., they want to park nearby. Or get off the train and be within close proximity. Our research has shown that institutions located in the center of a City within close proximity of the train station or public transportation are more successful in communities like Elmhurst.”
Marcucci even did a little “site research” of his own.
“I once stood on the platform of the train station with a very well-known, accomplished musician and asked, if he could hand-pick the best possible place to perform in downtown Elmhurst, where would it be?” he said. “He pointed right at the location where we plan to build. To me, that said it all.”
A study done by Johnson Consulting Group in 2018 indicated that each theatergoer would actually bring $49.50 to the area, indicating a strong economic value.
Moving forward from here…
Looking ahead, the ECPA Board of Directors has embarked on a cultivation study to determine the funding feasibility of the $30 million building project, which has a goal of being built with private gifts, grants and naming rights. The study will determine two key outcomes: 1) whether or not the necessary funding will come this summer to facilitate the property closing; and, 2) to confirm the feasibility of raising the remaining funds needed to construct the building.
ECPA will now begin creating plans and raising the appropriate funds through a capital campaign and by obtaining grants from numerous available sources, all of which needs to happen before the project can begin. Given the long-term nature of the project and the goal of building management, the tenants residing in the current space will not be impacted by the plan “for several years,” the Board said.
Learn more at library meeting March 11
There will be an open meeting at the Elmhurst Public Library to learn more about the ECPA on Monday, March 11 at 7 p.m. More information is available at ecpa-elmhurst.org, including a virtual tour of the proposed ECPA and how you can become part of the ECPA initiative.
