GRAND BOULEVARD — HotHouse, the long-closed South Loop club, received a $200,000 grant from the state to help complete its revival in Bronzeville.
The grant came from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to relaunch the club at the former Elliot Donnelly Youth Center, 3947 S. Michigan Ave.
Horberg launched a comeback for the club and crowdsourcing campaign to raise $250,000 in 2022 to buy the Michigan Avenue building. The campaign raised $160,000 from donors mainly outside of the city, including former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, founder Marguerite Horberg said.
The state funding brings Horberg one step closer to her dream of converting the old South Side youth center into a “Ravinia in the Hood.”
“I’m so grateful that the elected officials and all of our constituents and donors have been able to advance the project sufficiently to attract this major award from the state,” Horberg said. “We anticipate that this is a game-changer event and that we will hopefully attract additional funding which would allow us to purchase the building and start the development.”
Plans call for the 42,000-square-foot former youth center to become a “multipurpose facility” that would host arts programs, social justice projects and a restaurant. The campus would also have a box office, coat check and performance space/dance hall for 250 people, along with a restaurant, administrative offices and meeting rooms. Horberg also plans to buy a lot across the street and add a floor to the existing building, she said.
Hothouse’s location was closed in 2007 after 12 years of drawing thousands of visitors to East Balbo Street for live performances and cultural programs. A lawsuit with the landlord over property taxes was settled shortly after.
In an announcement earlier this week, Horberg said the redevelopment will include the restoration of adjacent murals and gardens that currently house sculptural works depicting the African American experience.
With HotHouse being adjacent to the planned Bronzeville Trail, incorporating elements of the trail into the facility’s design “represents an amazing community engagement and partnership” between the two groups, said John Adams, Bronzeville Trail Task Force founder and executive director.
“The renditions illustrate how patrons of the Hot House, users of the Bronzeville Trail and the greater Bronzeville community will benefit from the connectivity of these proposed developments. We look forward to the vision of the Hot House in Bronzeville coming to fruition,” Adams said.
Block Club reported last year that Horberg had finalized the paperwork necessary to buy the building, but Horberg said this week that contract with the owners of the building had expired, which delayed the plans. A new contract has been put in place, she said.
Horberg said she hopes to work with DMAC Architecture & Interiors on the building’s design. The Evanston-based company did the original renderings for the project, she said.
“We’re waiting for some applications. We have other significant grants pending. We hope that those are forthcoming, which would allow us to make the purchase. Well, let’s say your funding doesn’t come in. We’re gonna have some alternative plans and maybe to try to work with a real estate development partner,” Horberg said.
HotHouse is aiming to open by the end of 2025. The venue is preparing for an onsite festival in the fall, Horberg said.
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