The Steppenwolf Theatre Company is launching a $54 million project that will bring a new theater and education center to North Halsted Street in Lincoln Park.
The renowned theater company’s new facility will be designed by Chicago architectural firm of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill and British theater design company Charcoalblue, which together also designed the $35 million Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The new 50,000-square-foot facility — to be built on a parking lot south of the company’s home at 1650 North Halsted Street — will feature a 400-seat theater-in-the-round, rehearsal space and classrooms. The ground-breaking for the project takes place on Tuesday and the facility is expected to open in 2021.
The project is part of a planned $73 million expansion of the Steppenwolf campus that includes the creation of a cabaret theater, coffeehouse and bar to the north of the company’s main facility, in addition to a planned overhaul of the original theater, according to the Tribune.
Steppenwolf was founded in 1974 by actors Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry and Gary Sinise, and counts among notable past and present ensemble members Laurie Metcalf, Joan Allen, John Malkovich, John Mahoney and William Petersen.
The company’s decision to move near North Avenue and Halsted Street in 1991 is credited with helping spur development in the area, which has accelerated with the demolition of the nearby Cabrini-Green housing complex. Chicago-based Structured Development has led a number of projects in the area, including the New City and Shops at Big Deahl mixed-use complexes. [Chicago Tribune] — John O’Brien