City takes ownership of Des Plaines Theatre
Renovations to the Des Plaines Theatre will begin immediately now that the shuttered facility officially is owned by the city, officials announced Thursday.
The city took ownership of the downtown theater on Miner Street after completing due diligence on the iconic 1925 Art Deco-style building, finalizing a nearly $1.3 million deal it entered in February.
City officials want to remodel the theater and hire a manager for day-to-day operations. They view reopening the theater as a potential boon for the city's downtown. It could open by fall 2019, officials said.
"As we began to share the concept of the theater's purchase and renovation, we received positive feedback from retail businesses and restaurants interested in locating to our downtown area," Mayor Matt Bogusz said in an announcement of the sale's finalization. "The renovation and reopening of the theater will bring new energy to the city and result in more employment opportunities and sales tax revenues for our great community."
The city entered a cost-sharing agreement with Rivers Casino in May to purchase and renovate the theater. The casino has agreed to match up to $2 million in costs and contribute $50,000 annually for five years to fund educational programming at the theater.
Former owner Dhitu Bhagwakar bought the theater in 2003, and showed American and Indian films. But the city shut down the theater in 2014 because of uncorrected building code violations.