Chicago’s Uptown Theater Sold

Chicago’s historic Uptown Theater was sold Tuesday for $3.2 million, after a court forced the venue’s foreclosure. Jam Productions Ltd., a Chicago-based company, purchased the aging theater, which was built in 1925 and has shared its stage with such legendary acts as the Grateful Dead and the Kinks.Chicago’s historic Uptown Theater was sold Tuesday for $3.2 million, after a court forced the venue’s foreclosure. Jam Productions Ltd., a Chicago-based company, purchased the aging theater, which was built in 1925 and has shared its stage with such legendary acts as the Grateful Dead and the Kinks.
Jam Productions head Jerry Mickelson was present at the theater’s sale and was the high bidder out of two. The $3.2 million is to go towards paying off the theater’s two costly mortgages, which were the catalysts for historic Uptown’s foreclosure.

As the costly sum paid by Jam will only go towards paying the venue’s previous bills, funds for renovating the vacant theater back into functional shape will have to come from elsewhere. “Buying the Uptown is one thing, rehabbing it is another,” Mickelson said, “This will have to be a partnership between the city, the state and ourselves.”

“No private entity could afford to put [$30 to $40 million] into a theater,” he continued. “The Uptown can only reopen with the necessary funding from the city.” Such large sums of public funding are not unheard of in the Windy City, as downtown Chicago’s expensive renovation was partially city and state funded.
Others interested in purchasing the theater included Live Nation and Madison Square Entertainment, both of whom declined to bid and already possess similar properties in the Chicago area.

Others interested in purchasing the theater included Live Nation and Madison Square Entertainment, both of whom declined to bid and already possess similar properties in the Chicago area.