SOUTH SHORE — Plans for a nearly decade-old entertainment center on the South Shore recently filed for city zoning board approvals, and its developer says it hopes to open the center at 71st Street and Jeffrey Boulevard by the end of 2026.
Developer South Shore Commercial Properties plans to create a full-service Creole restaurant; a seven-screen dining cinema; An eight-lane bowling alley and event space at 7052 S. Jeffery Blvd.
The services will be operated internally by the developer's subsidiary, Inner City Entertainment. The site is currently home to the former Jeffrey Theater and Urban Partnership Bank buildings, which will be demolished to build the complex.
The project cleared several hurdles at the Zoning Board of Appeals on Oct. 18, including public amusement place permit approvals and zoning changes related to the building's status as a “transit-served site.”
After receiving board approvals, the developer will apply for a new demolition permit “as soon as possible,” said developer Alyssa Starks, a South Shore resident and owner of Inner City Entertainment.
Pending permit approval, demolition and groundbreaking are expected to take place in the spring, while a grand opening is scheduled for late 2026. The project was officially announced in 2017, after information about the concept leaked in 2015, Starks said.
“It obviously took a lot longer to get done because when the pandemic happened, (restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys and event venues) had not been operating for years,” Starks said. “It was just a longer process of maneuvering through the financing and all the cost increases. It all took its toll on getting it done.”
Project costs have doubled compared to pre-pandemic estimates, though Starks declined to disclose current estimates. Costs were estimated at $20.5 million in 2021.
Inner City Entertainment owns the parking lots across from the project site, which are planned to be used for the center, Starks told Block Club in 2021.
Zoning Board Chairman Brian Sanchez noted support for the project from Ald. Desmon Yancey (V), the South Shore Chamber, South Shore Works, and residents of the Jackson Park Highlands Historic District, among others.
“We need more ways that we can create a (walkable) community on the South Shore — places where we can spend our money within the community, where we can feel safe and come together without fear of violence,” said Valerie Batiste, a South Shore resident. “. The meeting.
Starks does not plan to keep aspects of the Jeffrey Theater or the former bank, she said. The buildings have deteriorated to the point that “there's not much that can be saved,” she told Block Club on Thursday.
The city issued a demolition permit for the site in 2020, but that permit was later revoked, said Peter Stratzabusko, a spokesman for the city's Department of Planning and Development. He said the 90-day demolition delay would be triggered by submitting a new application for a demolition permit.
The city is delaying demolition permits for architecturally significant buildings for up to 90 days, so the zoning department can “explore options” to preserve them. The resulting 2020 permit suspension expired without the city designating the site a Chicago Landmark.
The nonprofit Preservation Chicago has placed the Jeffrey Theater on its list of Chicago's “most endangered” buildings in 2023.
“At one point I was hoping I could (locate the center in existing buildings), but it didn’t work out,” Starks told the zoning board this month.
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