The Jacksonville Center for the Arts board has signed an exclusive option to purchase the historic Illinois Theater, a move that could reshape the city’s arts scene.
The board’s vision is to restore the landmark theater and transform it into a multipurpose civic center with performing arts capabilities, according to a community announcement.
The project is expected to fill an amenities gap in Jacksonville and create a new hub for arts, education and special events.
“The Illinois Theater is iconic. It is historic. It is a jewel in the crown of the Square,” Larry Kuster, JCA board president, said in the announcement. “The JCA vision, besides restoring the building, is about creating and sustaining a hub to help fill an identified amenities gap in our community. The vision is to attract people to come here not only for entertainment, but to see our community as a great place to live and work. The vision is to build a state-of-the-art civic center with live streaming capability to bring events from around the world to our doorstep.”
The board has started sharing details with past and prospective donors and is laying the groundwork for a community fundraising campaign. The goal is to raise $8.8 million, the estimated cost to transform the movie theater into a multifunctional facility, by mid-November 2025, according to the announcement.
Plans for the project followed a use and financial sustainability analysis. The board chose to restore and repurpose the Illinois Theater instead of building a new facility, based on feedback from community engagement sessions.
The study, which included surveys and interviews with potential users, indicated that Jacksonville could sustain a civic center and that the project would support the local economy and strengthen the city’s appeal as a destination for visitors and businesses, according to the announcement.
More information about the project is available at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts website.
This story was created by reporter Abreanna Blose, ablose@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Jacksonville arts group plans theater transformation