By Lorraine Swanson, Editor, News-StarThe forced judicial sale of the Uptown Theatre was finalized in Cook County Circuit Court on Monday after a years' long dispute over the ownership of the Chicago landmark once billed as "An Acre of Seats in a Magic City."
The deed to the property was transferred to Jerry Mickelson, president of Jam Productions, whose limited liability company, UTAII, purchased the Uptown Theatre in a court auction on July 29 for $3.2 million.
The judge entered an order approving the sale, indicating that UTAII was the successful purchaser, said Mickelson's attorney, Todd Rowland, of the firm Thomspon Coburn Fagel Haber.
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So Mickelson gets to hold onto the theater to prevent competitors from coming in to compete with his shows.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the theater will stay shuttered for at least five years, while various concerns attempt to "correct" the Uptown's precarious physical and fiscal state.
And five years is a long time--enough time for a new generation with new ideas about live entertainment and concerns about energy efficiency--to come of age and question this theater's "historic" relevancy.
At least the Uptown's marquee will continue to find use as a smoking lounge by all the nicotine-addicted patrons from the nearby clubs and restaurants.
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