Construction Begins on TimeLine Theatre Company's New Home in Uptown

TimeLine Theatre Company's capital campaign has raised nearly $40 million and its general contractor, Bulley & Andrews, has begun construction on the company’s future new home at 5035 N. Broadway, near the corner of Broadway and Argyle, in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.

The concrete pre-cast panels that will form the walls of TimeLine’s new home have been fabricated and are being held in a warehouse in Wisconsin until they can be transported to Chicago to take their place at 5035 N. Broadway. Per the current construction schedule, TimeLine anticipates opening its new building in early 2026. A public groundbreaking ceremony will be announced at a later date.

“We’re beyond excited that work is underway, but our new home project is about more than completing construction and relocating to a new facility—it’s about launching TimeLine’s next chapter as an organization,” said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. “All of our decisions have been focused on making our new home far more than a theater. We hope for TimeLine to be a gathering place that adds to the vitality of the historic, rich, and vital Uptown neighborhood with expanded programming and a deepened focus on community, where we can fully embrace our belief that history belongs to everyone.”

“TimeLine has been navigating a radically shifting post-pandemic landscape since purchasing the property in December 2018,” added TimeLine Executive Director Mica Cole. “At the same time, we’ve been focusing on our core values, our people, and our long-term sustainability. We’re poised and ready to lean into our exciting future. We hope TimeLine’s path to our new home will serve as an example of bold transition, success, and inspiration at this moment in the Chicago theater community’s history.”

"We're thrilled to welcome TimeLine Theatre to Uptown and the 48th Ward. Uptown has long been known for its world-class entertainment venues and shows, and TimeLine Theatre will be a great addition to this tradition,” said Chicago 48th Ward Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth. “Located in the heart of the bustling Asia on Argyle community, TimeLine has integrated community spaces into their design, opening their doors to neighbors with a new, modern approach to the theater experience. We are glad to have their partnership and investment in our community, and look forward to the official groundbreaking."

“Uptown has a long history as an entertainment destination and we are thrilled to add TimeLine Theatre to the growing list of venues calling Uptown home,” added Sarah Wilson, Executive Director, Uptown United & Uptown Chamber of Commerce. “They are connecting two of Uptown’s historic districts: the entertainment district with the Asia on Argyle district. We are excited to work with TimeLine to connect their momentum with businesses and neighbors in the community.”

The project design and construction team—HGA, Schuler Shook, Threshold Acoustics, Bulley & Andrews and Cullen Construction Management—has been working with TimeLine representatives through various design conceptualizations and schematic design phases, informed by extensive site analysis, engineering studies and, as a result of the pandemic, a clearer focus on adaptability. 

The resulting building design features a façade that offers an open, inviting presence to the Uptown community, and interior spaces that fulfill TimeLine’s goal of creating an inspiring home that is driven by and supports the company’s mission and ensures accessibility and inclusivity for all.

Far more than just a theater, TimeLine’s new home will be an inviting, accessible facility and a welcoming gathering space for entertainment, education, and community engagement. Joining other venerable performance venues in the historic Uptown Entertainment District, TimeLine’s new home will feature an intimate and flexible 250-seat black box theater that can be re-imagined for every show; exhibit galleries that enhance the production experience; dedicated space for TimeLine’s Living History high school student audiences, education programming, and community gathering; expanded social spaces including a bar and café open day and night; a spacious and visible rehearsal room that invites a view of the art as it’s being made; office and production space for TimeLine’s growing staff; plus opportunities for future expansion.



Since launching its capital campaign, “IT'S TIME: The Campaign for TimeLine’s New Home,” the company has successfully raised nearly $40 million toward the approximately $46 million project cost, including $12.9 million in public support ($2.9 million from the State of Illinois, $10 million from the City of Chicago), and funds from more than 170 generous individual donors. A list of campaign supporters to date is available upon request.

“We are immensely grateful for the support that the City of Chicago and State of Illinois have provided this project,” said Cole. “In particular, Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, Alderwoman Angela Clay, Alderman Matt Martin, Representative Hoan Huynh, Senator Mike Simmons, Senator Sara Feigenholtz, Former Representative Greg Harris, Former Senator Heather A. Steans, Former Alderman Harry Osterman and Former Alderman James Cappleman have offered invaluable guidance and advocacy along the way.”

To power this period of transition and growth, TimeLine was intentional about expanding its full-time staff. In April 2022, following a national search, Mica Cole was appointed Executive Director. Cole most recently served eight years as Repertory Producer at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and consulted with organizations nationwide. Her role at TimeLine was an exciting return to Chicago, where she had previously been in leadership positions at Free Street Theatre and Writers Theatre, and graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University.

Former Managing Director Elizabeth K. Auman transitioned to a newly created position of Director of New Home Development. Ted DeLong, who served for more than a decade as General Manager and Associate Producer at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and most recently as Woolly Mammoth Theatre’s Interim Managing Director, was appointed Managing Director. Tiffany Fulsonwas named to a new full-time role as Artistic and Community Engagement Producer, providing leadership in growing community-based programming. Fulson was also recently named one of six local early-career leaders in the U.S. to be part of Theatre Communication Group’s 2024 Rising Leaders of Color Program.

“The new leadership voices and national industry experience of Mica and Ted, in partnership with the deep institutional knowledge and long-time guidance of PJ and Elizabeth—plus the investment in emerging leaders like Tiffany—are a potent combination at this critical juncture in TimeLine’s history,” said TimeLine Board President Thaddeus J. Malik. “We are ready to embark upon this new era with focus, determination, and strength as an organization.” 

Meanwhile, as TimeLine raised millions of dollars for its new home, the company continued to excel on stage. Highlights include returning to production in early 2022 with the Jeff Award-winning (and Goodman Theatre remounted) world premiere of Tyla Abercrumbie’s Relentless, and staging its biggest box office hit ever, The Lehman Trilogy, in partnership with Broadway In Chicago, which enjoyed an extended run at the Broadway Playhouse in Fall 2023.

Now, after 25 years in residence, TimeLine is departing its longtime home at 615 W. Wellington Avenue in Lakeview East, reflecting on not just the countless memories in the quirky, intimate, and transformative space known as Baird Hall, but on what the space has meant to Off-Loop Chicago theater since at least the mid-1960s, and as a community hub for more than 100 years. Visit timelinetheatre.com/farewellington for information about related events and a link to contribute your own memory of TimeLine or its historic space.

Already, TimeLine has relocated its administrative offices to a temporary base at 5539 N. Broadway, just a few blocks north of the site of its new home, where staff will manage construction, continue fundraising efforts and deepen community connections.  

TimeLine is equally busy preparing for its upcoming 2024-25 season, which boasts producing partnerships with Court Theatre, The Theatre School at DePaul University, and Writers Theatre—plus the internationally acclaimed company the american vicarious: 

The groundbreaking musical about family, faith, and love, Falsettos, with music and lyrics by William Finn, book by William Finn and James Lapine, produced in partnership with Court Theatre and directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling. Runs November 8 – December 8, 2024 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis St. in Hyde Park.

The Chicago premiere of Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley, adapted and directed by Christopher McElroen. Following critically acclaimed runs in New York City and London, TimeLine will create a site-specific, immersive Chicago premiere of the american vicarious’ imagining of the historic debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr., which took place at the Cambridge Union. TimeLine’s production, presented in partnership with The Theatre School at DePaul University, will commemorate the event’s 60th anniversary, running January 29 – March 2, 2025 at DePaul’s Cortelyou Commons, 2324 N. Fremont St., Chicago.

The world premiere of a searing Chicago-set story rich with culinary tradition and dramatic twists about family, legacy, and survival at all costs, Dhaba on Devon Avenue, by Madhuri Shekar, directed Chay Yew, produced in partnership with Writers Theatre. Runs June 19 – July 27, 2025 at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Ct., in Glencoe.  

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