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Monday, June 2, 2008 11:16 PM CDT
Near-completion of EIU fine arts center will close doors on two temporary facilities
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — As the Doudna Fine Arts Center expansion nears completion, the owners of two former supermarket buildings leased by Eastern Illinois University will need to find new tenants.
Due to the need to house services displaced by the expansion, Eastern started leasing the buildings in summer 2002. The former Walker’s building on 18th Street became the theater department’s Village Theatre and the former IGA/Max Market building on Lincoln Avenue became the art department’s Art Park West.
Bob Walker of Mattoon-based Walker Enterprises, which owns the Village Theatre building, said Eastern has not given a date yet for when its month-to-month leasing of the building will end, but he is preparing for it to be open by the fall semester.
“I am preparing some advertising to make the building available for renters,” Walker said.
Walker said the Village Theatre building could be leased to a single large business or office, or divided for use by two smaller tenants.
Eastern remodeled the building to include a 30-by-30 arena theater with seating for nearly 190. Walker said he has not received inquires so far from any prospective tenants who want to retain the building’s theater usage.
“I would welcome that, but I have not heard from anyone who has expressed an interest,” Walker said.
The former IGA/Max Market building, home to Art Park West, previously housed part of Booth Library’s collection during its renovation. The building is part of West Park Plaza, owned by Bravo Properties of Oak Brook.
Property Manager Lou Leonard said Eastern is still leasing the Art Park West building on a month-to-month basis and has not given notice yet of when the lease will end.
Leonard said Bravo Properties has not started marketing the building to prospective tenants. He said finding a new tenant will depend on how the economic climate and commercial real estate market is doing when the building becomes available.
Jeff Cooley, vice president for business affairs at Eastern, said via a spokesman the university has not determined a move-in time yet for the expanded Fine Arts Center. He said Eastern officials are scheduled to meet this week with the contractors to get details.
Cooley said Eastern has no plans to continue leasing either of the two former supermarket buildings after the Fine Arts Center reopens.
The Art Park West building is part of a shopping center that is home to several other businesses, while the Village Theatre is located on a commercial corridor.
Jeremy Roach, a shift supervisor at the Monical’s Pizza across from the Village Theatre, said the closure of the theater will not have a big impact on the restaurant. He said many Eastern staff members eat lunch at Monical’s but they are from the main campus, not the theater. He said only occasional groups of theater students eat there.
Roach said he will be interested to see what new tenant moves into the Village Theatre building.
“It’s always nice to have new customers come around,” Roach said.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
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misterdeez wrote on Jun 2, 2008 9:31 AM: