Steep Theatre has announced its plans to purchase the former Christian Science Reading Room at the northwest corner of Berwyn and Kenmore in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago to serve as the ensemble's new home and performance space. The property, located at 1044 West Berwyn, is a mere two blocks east of the previous Steep Theatre, which was the company's home from 2008 until September 2020, when it vacated the building due to impending commercial development. Steep has signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement and hopes to purchase the building this spring after a period of due diligence and community outreach.
Steep Theatre's 12-year tenure at its previous home at 1115 West Berwyn saw the company blossom into one of Chicago's most acclaimed storefront theaters and an indispensable community and cultural hub for the Edgewater neighborhood. Steep has produced over 70 plays, which have been met with remarkable critical and audience acclaim, earning the company recognition as "the most fearless theater in Chicago", according to the Chicago Tribune. In 2018, the company expanded into an adjacent storefront to create The Boxcar, a dynamic lounge and performance space that featured the work of over 150 artists from many disciplines and served as a gathering point for artists, audiences, and neighbors alike. Steep is eager to continue this trajectory of artistic and organizational development in a new home in Edgewater.
"It's been a painstaking search that had us peeking in storefront windows all over the city," said Artistic Director and co-founder
Peter Moore. "But the idea of being anywhere other than Edgewater never sat right with us. We're overjoyed to have the opportunity to put down permanent roots and build our new home in the neighborhood we call home."
The 3,500 square foot building is roughly the same size as the former Steep and Boxcar spaces and sits on a 17,500 square foot lot that offers both ample parking and the opportunity to grow. According to Executive Director
Kate Piatt-Eckert, "when asked to describe Steep's former spaces, the first word that often comes to mind is 'flexible'. That's just what this truly unique site provides - the flexibility to be what we need now, with only modest renovations, and to evolve and expand with the company's changing needs for decades to come. While the large lot provides ample parking and room for growth, it's also the perfect outdoor space for community events like the food truck nights outside The Boxcar that we all so enjoyed."
Steep is in a position to purchase the building thanks in no small part to its board of directors and a group of generous friends of the company who have enthusiastically supported the search for a new home. The company is now in the early stages of performing due diligence on the property and reaching out to its potential new neighbors, while working with their architectural partners at Civic Projects Architecture to visualize the conversion of this building into a neighborhood theatre that can be Steep's "forever home".
If the building passes the structural reviews and the community is supportive of the move and zoning change necessary to license the space as a theatre, Steep plans to launch a capital campaign in the spring of 2022. The campaign will raise the funds to make the new building performance-ready and support Steep's goals for pay equity and organizational sustainability.
With the assistance of Alderman Harry Osterman's office, Steep will host an informational zoom meeting for members of the community on Thursday, February 17, at 6:00 PM. An open house and additional opportunities to discuss the project will follow in late February and early March. Registration information for the informational meeting and additional information about Steep's search for a new home are available at
https://steeptheatre.com/building.
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