About 100 people representing the Northlight Theatre and the City of Evanston gathered Tuesday morning for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the theatre’s soon-to-be-home at 1012 Church Street in Evanston.
While there’s an empty lot at the address now, the groundbreaking marks the start of construction on a new building for the Northlight Theatre, which for the last 28 years has been mounting its productions at Skokie’s North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. The structure is estimated to cost $32 million, and in December, the theatre announced it had raised $26.2 million toward that cost.
Tim Evans, the executive director of Northlight Theatre, thanked the groundbreaking’s attendees. “This wouldn’t happen without each and every one of you. This is your building. This is your theater, and once we get it going and you’re all back, we’re going to do a big old ribbon cutting as well.”
The theater will include approximately 285 seats, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, a dedicated box office and contemporary bar/café in the lobby, a second floor rehearsal and event space, and a lounge and gathering areas on the first and second floors, according to a Northlight news release.
Evans said the theater’s construction is anticipated to be finished by summer 2026. Shows at the theater could then commence for the 2026/2027 season, which begins in fall 2026.
“We’re grateful to be back in downtown Evanston, and I think all of this will add up to a wonderful addition to the Chicago theater scene,” he said.
“I’m sure we’ll have some kind of a champagne toast (when Northlight leaves Skokie),” Artistic Director BJ Jones said. “It’s been a great home for 28 years now, and I’m sure we’ll do some kind of send off with the building and the mayor and the city manager.”
“This is really a thrilling opportunity for us to move back to where we started off as the Evanston Theater Company,” Jones said.
“There are a lot of artists here in Evanston who will be involved in our theater: actors, directors, designers, playwrights,” Jones said. “So we’ll be giving a lot of folks opportunities right here in the community.”
