Rivers Casino commits more than $2 million to Des Plaines Theatre
Rivers Casino has committed up to $2 million in matching funds to help the city of Des Plaines acquire and renovate the shuttered Des Plaines Theatre, according to a document released Thursday.
The memorandum of understanding, dated Aug. 19, also proposes Rivers or its foundation contribute a minimum of $50,000 per year for five years to programming at the theater, provided it is focused on education and performing arts.
The memo, sent from Rivers General Manager Corey Wise to City Manager Mike Bartholomew, states Rivers will also have the opportunity to place its logo on the theater's signage at 1476 Miner St. Rivers w also seek dates to use what would become the city-owned theater.
The financial details, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, were revealed a day after Des Plaines Mayor Matt Bogusz announced plans to revive the 91-year-old downtown theater through a public-private partnership with the Des Plaines-based casino.
After the property is acquired and renovated, the city's plan calls for hiring Ron Onesti, who successfully revitalized the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, to book concerts and other shows in Des Plaines.
Current theater owner Dhitu Bhagwakar on Thursday called the city's proposal “a good plan.”
City officials eventually plan to make a purchase offer to Bhagwakar, who said a recent appraisal of the property valued it at $2.3 million.
He says he made more than $500,000 worth of improvements to restore and reopen the theater in 2010 after purchasing it in 2003.
Those renovations included removal of a partition and drop ceiling, and restoration of many of the features of the original theater.
“It is hot property. It's in the heart of the downtown and the heart of the Northwest suburbs,” Bhagwakar said. “The building itself is in pretty good shape. I made a lot of improvements into it.”
But the venue has been closed since January 2014, when Bhagwakar missed a city deadline to fix building code issues, including the absence of a fire-resistant curtain for live performances, the lack of a sprinkler system by the stage area, and problems with the boiler and furnace rooms.
The bathrooms also aren't handicapped-accessible, as required by federal law.
Bhagwakar has long asked for money from the city to fix those problems.
Renovations to the theater are estimated to cost $1 million to $1.5 million, Bartholomew said Wednesday.
Rivers' commitment and the city's match for renovations and acquisition - a total of $4 million - will go a long way to getting the theater open again, Bhagwakar said.
“That will make this theater a great theater,” he said.
Should Bhagwakar decline the city's offer, the city could pursue condemnation proceedings - a process that could take up to two years. Bogusz said his goal is to reopen the theater by 2020.