Mayor Looks to Help Revitalize Long-Shuttered Ramova Theater

CHICAGO—Mayor Lori Lightfoot proposed to the City Council last week a plan to support a $22.9-million rehabilitation of the long-vacant Ramova Theater. The City Council is also considering a proposal to landmark the former headquarters for the Chicago & North Western Railway Co., which is being redeveloped into a dual-branded Hilton hotel property.

The city would provide a $6.64-million Tax Incremental Financing loan for the plan to redevelop the 90-year old city-owned structure into an entertainment and dining complex in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago.

The Ramova Theater, which closed to the public in 1985, will be restored by Our Revival Chicago LLC as the centerpiece of a three-building theater, restaurant, and brewpub complex on the 3500 block of South Halsted Street, which upon completion will host concerts and other live events for up to 1,600 patrons.

The developer would repay $100,000 in interest over the first three years, with the principal and remaining interest to be forgiven at the conclusion of the 10-year-term, provided all annual compliance requirements are met, city officials stated. The city-owned theater building and adjacent lot, valued at $765,000, would also be provided for $1 to support the project.

Built in 1928, the single-screen theater building was designed by architect Mayer O. Nathan in the Spanish Revival style. In 1940, it hosted the Chicago premier of Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator.” The final movie screening took place in 1985, “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment.”

“This is an exciting step forward for the Bridgeport community and the entire cultural life of our city,” Mayor Lightfoot said. “The Ramova Theater will once again become the beating heart of Bridgeport as it helps fuel its local economy and write a new chapter in the history of the South Side.”

The city took ownership of the vacant property in 2001.

Last week, Mayor Lightfoot also introduced a redevelopment agreement with Heartland Phoenix House to preserve a 32-unit affordable housing development in North Lawndale for persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Heartland acquired the property and assumed the mortgage and regulatory agreements last month from AIDSCARE III LP. Phoenix House, a 13-year-old, supportive living facility at 1251 S. Sawyer Ave., in the 24th Ward, provides on-site case management, medical assistance, mental health and/or substance abuse support and other services to persons living with HIV/AIDS, as well as formerly homeless individuals.

The city will provide a $1 million multifamily loan to help stabilize the property and complete future work necessary over the next 15 years.

The City Council also reported last week that a proposal was introduced to support the $137-million adaptive reuse of the former headquarters for the Chicago & North Western Railway Co. by an official Chicago landmark designation and property tax incentive.

Completed in 1905, the building at 226 W. Jackson Blvd. served as the railroad’s main office until 1929. More recently, the building served as the central office for the City Colleges of Chicago.

The building was purchased in 2019 for $32.7 million by Phoenix 226 Central Loop Owner LLC, which is converting it into a 350-room, dual-branded Hilton hotel. Improvements are planned to include new room configurations and entrances; upgraded mechanical and fire protection systems; masonry and window repairs; a one-story rooftop addition; and a replacement cornice.

The proposed landmark designation, recommended by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks last week, would protect its exterior features from significant alteration or demolition.

The proposed Class L property tax incentive, which encourages the preservation and rehabilitation of landmark structures, would reduce property taxes on the building by approximately $20 million over the next 12 years.

An estimated 460 construction and 340 permanent jobs would be created by the project, which is expected to be completed by the summer of 2021.