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Wheaton Grand’s final act coming soon?

The final act of the Wheaton Grand Theater drama could play out, for good or for ill, as early as next summer.

The long-vacant and much-debated property still attracts “reasonable interest,” and the bank holding the note on it has no specific timeline on making a deal for the landmark in downtown Wheaton.

However, the longer it takes to come to an accord, the more likely demolition comes into play.

“Within the next six months, that other alternative of blowing it up and putting a gap in the smile of downtown Wheaton comes into play,” said Senior Vice President Mark Daniels of Suburban Bank and Trust Co. “But it’s nothing we want to do.”

The emergence of Rick Erickson, a downtown businessman who has put together an unofficial think tank on city issues, has given Daniels another reason to be optimistic. Erickson and his group have tossed around ideas for the theater and will meet again Friday to narrow them down.

Erickson’s admittedly optimistic timeline has renovations completed next summer, falling right in line with Daniels’ demolition timeline.

Daniels said he will monitor Erickson’s group effort to gauge how viable it becomes as the bank considers demolition as a way of sparking interest from outside investors as well as keeping property costs down.

“It’s certainly much easier to give it some time,” he said. “But if it’s a lot of good intentions with not a lot of financial wherewithal, we have to make that other call.

“There is no road map for how these things play out,” he said. “I know the property is a big thing for everybody because it’s such a huge part of downtown. We still think we can find a buyer with that original vision but if we settle for any deal below fair market, it’s hurting our people downtown.”

After years of debate about whether to publicly fund renovations, 56 percent of voters rejected a proposal in April that would have set aside up to $150,000 annually for the building.

The building’s future looked grim, but Erickson, who owns a business consulting company downtown, reinvigorated residents who support the theater’s renovation by calling for a meeting of private citizens to tackle the issue.

Daniels said the length of time to work a deal is a natural part of these transactions.

“Any potential buyers are trying to get the property at the best deal,” he said. “My job after being the genius to make the loan is to get as much back as possible.”

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