In a meeting with Friends of the DuPage Theatre president Virginia Lippig, Republican Illinois State Senator Dan Cronin of Elmhurst and former GOP Illinois State Senate President “Pate” Philip said they would like to meet with Lombard Trustees to find a way to save the theater that a majority of trustees voted to demolish in a June 2nd meeting. The restoration of the theater has been an on-again, off-again affair for years with plans that lacked sufficient funding. What makes things different this time is that, working with Lombard village officials and a private developer, Friends of the DuPage Theatre actually presented a plan deemed financially sound by village officials that would bring a development of over $30 million to downtown Lombard and an $8.5 million restoration of the theater. The development proposal includes 86 luxury condos and apartments, plus retail space and restaurants located in and around the theater. The theater location, at Main Street and Parkside, is across the street from Lombard’s Metra station, making the location extremely convenient for mass transit access.
Since the vote supporters of the theater have held a rally that garnered the attention of the National Trust preservation organization. Some supporters have questioned the intent of Lombard Trustees voting against the funded proposal. Lisa DiChiera, Director of Advocacy at the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois was quoted in a National Trust article saying,
“It would be one thing if there was no plan for the theater, but there’s a viable plan on the table…. The village staff has acknowledged that there’s no funding gap. This is just the stubbornness on the part of four village trustees who’ve decided they don’t like the building. Someone must be waiting in the wings who wants this development site.”
One trustee, Richard Tross, was vocal in his criticism of the new plan, objecting to the development proposal (instead of just a restoration proposal, which the Friends of the DuPage Theatre found after numerous tries they couldn’t fund). Tross has also objected to a requirement of a $293,000 grant the foundation won from Save America’s Treasures for a 50-year easement on the building. While he is right to be concerned about future financial obligations the Lombard Theatre may entail, the right way to go about it is to bring up the objection and then make sure the financing addresses the issue. Preservation, after all, is the whole purpose of the proposal.
I hope the Friends of the DuPage Theatre, with the assistance of the two state senators, are able to move a plan forward. The DuPage Theatre represents a chance to add character, interest and economic development to downtown Lombard, which would greatly benefit from it. Because of its close proximity to the Metra station, the project could become a hub for a transit-oriented development of downtown Lombard - something DuPage County needs to consider more in future economic development. The theater deserves to be saved.
Comments 4
[Editor Note: I have received a reasonable explanation for the number of people with the last name of, or otherwise associcated with “Difino” - so I am posting the two comments received that I held back. I regret the inconvenience to all.]
Name: Robert Difino
Email Address: difino@hotmail.com
Comment:
Mr. Wurf,
It’s obvious to me you do not understand or are ignorant to all the
details related to the Dupage Theatre Plan. Your post was irresponsible and innaccurate. Unless you contact the trustee who represents the Theatres district, contact the residents adjacent to the theatre and post a counter viewpoint, we will begin a campaign against you. How dare you make such allegations about our trustees. I am forwarding this article to the 1,945 residents of Lombard that have registered on our mail list to help lobby against the theatre plan. Unless you provide us with equal time, you can kiss our votes (and your campaign) goodbye.
RD
Lombard
Name: Martha
Email Address: anyways411@yahoo.com
Comment:
I am offended by this article. You know nothing of the facts. You
Posted 26 Jun 2005 at 5:46 am ¶will not get our votes. How dare you!
Martha Koch
Lombard Resident
Mr. Wurf,
I would like to thank you for your support for the DuPage Theatre project. As a long-time member of the Friends of the DuPage Theatre, I know first hand what a opportunity Lombard has to do something not just for the town, but the entire area! Make no mistake about it, there is a huge amount of support in Lombard for the project! You are, I’m sure, going to hear from a few detractors, but please take what they say with a grain of salt-these are a few people who are trying to hold the future development of Lombard ransom. These people try to run a wesbite where they trick the general public into thinking their numbers are actually higher than they are-if you look at some of th posts, the way they are written is the same, and at a recent Village Board meeting, only 2 showed up to speak. 25 supporters spoke, only 2 against. Pretty staggering odds, don’t you think?
Please also remember that one of the Trustees, O’Brian, who voted against, is recently elected. The previous Trustee, Karen Koenig, was a strong supporter and said the support was there in the district. Yet O’Brien voted against, and I somehow doubt the Theatre supporters all moved out!
Lastly, all you need to do is to drive around Lombard-you will see signs of support all throughtout the town. The people care, and the people support the DuPage. I’m glad you do to! Please help us keep up the fight!
Posted 26 Jun 2005 at 8:40 pm ¶Mr. Wurf-
It has been brought to my attention that you have made some comments regarding the DuPage Theatre on your website. I would like you to know that I am a lifelong resident of Lombard and grew up and still live within blocks of the Dupage Theatre. This theatre, thanks to years of neglect is in a terrible state of disrepair and despite efforts of a preservation group, we have been staring at a boarded up eyesore for many years. This same special interest group was given years to raise financial support from the private sector and they failed. Then in the 11th hour - they brought forth a restoration plan with a developer that would have used millions of TIF dollars and added a variance exceeding condo complex to the property. This would have had a devastating affect to local homeowners as well as use an unprecedented amount of TIF dollars to restore the theater. The finances were and are a great concern to the taxpayers of this town. There is a high likelihood that restoration could easily exceed budget as it did in Waukegan (10 million dollars over) when they tried to restore their theatre and the taxpayers would be left to pick up the tab. This special interest group had an oppurtunity to put this issue on a ballot in the form of a referendum and fought against it bitterly - Why? They claim vast support for their cause when in actuality they have only garnered about 200 signatures on a petition and had a rally in which 60 people showed up according to the Daily Herald. This group has made promises to the residents of this town over the years and have NEVER kept them. Our trustees did the right thing to end this effort and move on. Lombardians have waited long enough for a fair, resolution to this theatre issue and this plan was NOT it.
I’m not sure why a Naperville resident who does not yet hold public office would speak so publicly about this local issue but I’m sure you have not spoke with our trustees and I would welcome you to.
One thing’s for sure - it’s extremely “politically correct” to lobby for the restoration of old buildings but politicans who show support for a troubled project of this magnitude, better be prepared to answer to the taxpayers when they are stuck with the huge bills exceeding the budget can bring. Our people need tax relief and politicians who make that a priority.
Incidentally - Mr. Devitt who previously posted as a Friend of the DuPage does NOT reside in Lombard and will not be financially responsible for the tremendous tax implications this plan brings. He has continuously disrupted conversations on a village wide message board discussing the theater and failed to mention that we as a group decided to have only 2 members speak as a courtesy to the village board but rest assured the number of e-mails the trustees recieved from those who supported demolition were tremendous - ask them, they’ll tell you.
Posted 28 Jun 2005 at 5:39 pm ¶Before moving to South Alabama, I lived in Lombard for over twenty-five years. I served on the Village Finance Committee and Plan Commission, serving as chairman at the time of my resignation. The DuPage Theater has been an eyesore and a contentious discussion topic for years. If any group wants to “save” the theater let them find private financing - put their skin in the game. They might also want to investigate other theater rescues, such as the Chicago Theater.
Posted 16 Jan 2006 at 5:51 pm ¶Post a Comment