Victory Gardens Announces Intention to Sell the Greenhouse
On
May 2, 2008, the Board of Directors of Victory Gardens Theater announced the
sale of the Victory Gardens Greenhouse, the company’s longtime home at 2257 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago.
Purchasing
the building are Chicagoans William and Wendy Spatz, of Spatz Development LLC.
Happily,
the Greenhouse sale has little or no impact on VGT subscribers. All of the shows slated for 2008/09 were
already scheduled to be staged at our new Biograph mainstage. Most important, the sales contract includes a
special covenant stipulating the Greenhouse must be maintained as a live
theater venue for the next 25 years.
According
to Wendy Spatz, Vice President of Spatz Development, “We look forward to
managing the Greenhouse by following Victory
Gardens’ model. We plan to honor and keep the Greenhouse
name, operate as a non-profit theater, invite the five current resident companies
– Eclipse, MPAACT, Remy Bumppo, Shattered Globe and Teatro Vista theaters - to
continue presenting their seasons with us, fulfill the terms of other license
agreements negotiated by Victory Gardens, and expand the current slate of theater
classes for novices to working professionals.”
Spatz,
a Chicago arts patron who also serves on Victory Gardens’ board, continued, “We
plan to significantly invest in much-needed capital improvements to the
Greenhouse, including its two 199-seat theaters, and both 60-seat studios.”
Proceeds
from the sale are earmarked for continued capital needs at our new home, the Victory
Gardens Biograph Theater. This includes
filling the gap between the $11 million that was raised and the $11.8 million
in capital expended to purchase and renovate the Biograph, as well as the eventual
build-out of a second floor, 120-seat studio theater. Remaining funds will go toward establishment of
an endowment for the theater. Proceeds
will not be used for general operating expenses.
According
to Jeffrey Rappin, Victory Gardens Theater’s newly elected Incoming Board President,
“We are well into our second season at our beautiful new home at the Biograph,
and our patrons are happy and comfortable in our expanded facility. But we still have work to do to realize our
dream of making the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater an American Center
for New Plays. Continuing enhancements
to the Biograph and establishing an endowment – the first in Victory Gardens’
34-year history as Chicago’s #1 presenter of new plays – are important steps in
that process.”
