Timeline Theatre Company Purchases Uptown Property To Be Site for Its Future Home


Timeline Theatre Company Purchases Uptown Property To Be Site for Its Future Home

TimeLine Theatre Company recently announced that it has completed the purchase of property located at 5033–5035 North Broadway Avenue in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. The property, which encompasses a five-story, 45,120-square-foot warehouse building plus a vacant lot near the corner of Broadway and Argyle, is planned as the site of a renovated facility to house the theatre’s future operations and to support and expand its mission of presenting plays inspired by history that connect to today’s social and political issues.

“TimeLine Theatre has been making history for more than two decades, and now it’s time to lay the foundation for our next era,” said Artistic Director PJ Powers. “We’re looking to the future to create a space where TimeLine can grow and innovate—a place that will elevate everything our audience and supporters love about TimeLine, support new artistic possibilities, and fully support our mission.”

TimeLine has long been bursting at the seams of its current leased home located at 615 W. Wellington Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood, where the theatre has been in residence since 1999. Over the years, it has increasingly faced numerous limitations that constrain artistry, hamper audience accessibility and comfort, and challenge the ongoing financial sustainability that is critical for long term success.

Since 2011, the company has produced one play each season at an alternate venue, including for the past seven years at Stage 773, in order to accommodate a loyal and expanding audience and subscriber base.

“It is a proud moment for TimeLine purchasing this building, a long overdue step for one of Chicago’s leading theatre companies,” said Board President Eileen LaCario. “While the company has reached great recognition in its current location, by stepping into the Uptown neighborhood, TimeLine will have the opportunity to become a leader and partner in the community and share its mission of exploring our world through the lens of the past on a much broader scale.”

Preliminary plans for TimeLine’s new home feature two intimate and flexible black box theatres seating approximately 250 and 150 audience members, respectively, which can both be reimagined for every show.

TimeLine’s new home also provides an expanded area for the immersive lobby experiences that are a TimeLine hallmark, new opportunities for education and engagement, room to allow audience members to arrive early and stay late for theatergoing experiences that extend far beyond the stage, and more.

Once completed, TimeLine’s new home will also offer easy access by car from major thoroughfares, enhanced parking options, and exceptional access to public transportation— including the Red Line stop at Argyle, soon to be completely renovated through the CTA’s announced Red and Purple Modernization Program.

In addition, relocating to Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood gives TimeLine a unique opportunity to contribute to an area renowned since the early 1900s as a live entertainment destination. The theater will be just blocks from historic venues like the Green Mill, Aragon Ballroom, Riviera Theatre and the soon-to be- renovated Uptown Theatre, as well as Black Ensemble Theatre and upcoming arrivals like Baton Show Lounge and Double Door at the Wilson Avenue Theater.

“In moving to Uptown, TimeLine joins an incredible neighborhood and a vibrant art scene,” said Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman. “We believe that arts institutions should reflect the needs of the neighborhoods they are in, and we look forward to working closely with the Uptown community to form strong, open partnerships, collaborate on

shared goals and contribute another voice to= one of Chicago’s most diverse neighborhoods” they chose Uptown for their future home.”

The building at 5035 N. Broadway was built in the 1910s by W.C. Reebie & Brother, a moving and storage company founded in 1880 that still operates today. “We are excited to take this more than 100-year-old building and create within it a modern facility that will draw audience members from around Chicago and beyond to experience engaging and thought provoking theatre,” said Powers. “Reusing and revitalizing this building truly embodies our mission of bringing history to life and connecting the past with the present.”

With the purchase of this property, TimeLine immediately begins the next steps of its new home project. The total project budget is still in development but is estimated to be approximately $20 million, to be paid

through a combination of private philanthropy and other sources. The project is expected to take several years to complete as the company moves through overlapping design, fundraising, and construction phases.

In the meantime, TimeLine will continue to maintain its operations and present the majority of its productions at its current home leased within the Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, located at 615 W. Wellington Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood.

The property at 5033–5035 North Broadway Avenue was purchased from CEDARst Companies, a diversified holding company headquartered in Chicago with major interests in real estate, hospitality, entertainment,

and a number of venture start-ups, which is currently developing multiple new residential projects across and down the street from the future TimeLine location. The sale closed on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 for a price of $2.699 million.

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