Piven Expansion Plan Heads to City Council

Evanston’s Piven Theatre's request for a $2.2 million loan to renovate and expands its space at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center will go before the full City Council, Evanston Now reported.

Mayor Elizbeth Tisdahl supports the plan saying it’s a great problem to have when the city has more artists than the city has room for, the newspaper reported.

In the past community members and other tenants at Noyes questioned the finances of the expansion and the physical space required, while Piven supporters said the project would help catalyze revitalization not just of the building but of business on Noyes Street as well.

Under a proposal presented at a May city meeting, Piven’s rent would drop to the nominal fee of $1 per year beginning in 2014, and the city would grant the theater education program a $2.2 million, 30-year loan from the city to help fund renovations to the building and an expansion, including a new theater space. Piven would pay for the rest of the work through fundraising or private bank financing.

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