A local architect is proposing what he considers to be a grand solution to Evanston’s budget problems: building a fine arts and performing arts district along the lakefront.
After attending community budget workshops and City Council meetings, Michael Vasilko, owner of Vasilko Architects, proposed building an arts district that would “make Evanston the Santa Fe of the Midwest,” according to his proposal. The Economic Development Committee voted earlier this fall to form a subcommittee to investigate his suggestion.
“I want to take the burden off the little guy, the taxpayers,” Vasilko said. “The theory is that if you are going to build a performing arts facility, and your intention is to build it as a world-class facility of the highest caliber, then you will attract the best performers and the best orchestras.”
For the past two years, Evanston has reported a budget deficit, and at recent community budget workshops, members of the community strongly opposed reducing this year’s $3.1 million deficit by eliminating services such as library branches.
Evanston needs a new source of revenue other than property taxes, Vasilko said. Although Northwestern hosts local groups such as the Evanston Symphony Orchestra, none of those performances generates tax revenue for the city.
A world-class facility of the scale and quality of Boston’s Symphony Hall would benefit NU as well as draw in visitors from around the nation, he said. Vasilko presented his plans to Toni-Marie Montgomery, dean of the Bienen School of Music, in addition to the Economic Development Committee.
But Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) said residents oppose the proposal because any commercial development goes against the Lakefront Master Plan developed two and a half years ago, which emphasizes using the lakefront for light, “passive” development, such as parks and beaches, Wynne said.
“Mr. Vasilko’s plan is an antithesis of the entire discussion and the final document, so of course (residents) would be opposed to it,” Wynne said. “I don’t think there’s much interest in the council in pursuing this. Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) called it ‘Dubai on the Lake.'”
Although the arts district has its merits, Evanston does not have a huge demand for more artistic and cultural activities at the moment, said Samuel Nordlund, Bienen ’06, assistant director of performance activities at the Music Institute of Chicago. Nordlund said he has performed at venues at NU and in Chicago, but Nichols Concert Hall at the institute is the best acoustic space available.
“There’s a lot of terrific classical and jazz performers that come through here, and we don’t fill the house very often,” Nordlund said. “It’s kind of a shame because it’s a high quality product.”
The existing performing arts groups in Evanston still need additional performing spaces because existing venues cannot accommodate some types of performances, said Jeff Cory, cultural arts council director for the City of Evanston. Cory cited Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and Northlight Theatre as examples of Evanston groups forced to perform elsewhere.
“We would love the opportunity to perform in Evanston in a venue that is commensurate with our status and with our professional artistic product,” said Michael McStraw, executive director of Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago.
Nevertheless, a performing arts center in Evanston would have to compete with well-established venues in Chicago, and decision-makers should be very cautious when considering the feasibility of this proposal, said Richard Van Kleeck, director of concert Activities at Bienen.
“A performance center of any kind is a serious business, and it needs to be treated with a real business plan, not hopes and dreams or romantic ideas,” Van Kleeck said. “I’ve seen too many places where people are better at whipping up enthusiasm in building it but not laying out the realities.”
