by Jonah Meadows, Patch Staff
posted July 19, 2021
Northlight Theatre representatives hope to complete construction of a new 300-seat theater on Church Street by the fall of 2024.
Northlight Theatre has completed the purchase of the site of its planned downtown Evanston theater center. Theater officials hope to complete the project and relocate from the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie by the fall of 2024.
Plans have already been approved for the 38,000-square-foot, three-story design, with a 300-seat main stage theater. Of the total project cost of about $25 million, the state of Illinois has contributed $1 million, and about $4.5 million has been contributed by other foundations and agencies.
The nonprofit has also requested the City Council grant it $2 million of the Evanston's $45 million allocation of COVID-19 relief funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to finish the project faster. Theater representatives say they need to raise about $10 million more to complete construction.