A brand new multi-concept entertainment center is making its way to South Shore, located at 1938-1962 E. 71st St.
This new entertainment complex will include a seven-screen, dine-in cinema; an eight-lane bowling alley; a sit-down Creole restaurant, and a rooftop event space. The new $20.5 million development from Inner City Entertainment has been in the works for years now, but several factors, including the pandemic, have caused delays. Now, CEO Alisa Starks says they plan to open sometime in 2023. The new development will move into the former home of Jeffery Theatre, which will be demolished.
This project was formally announced five years ago, with the concept being leaked a few years before that. Starks claims the 2018-2019 government shutdown caused the group a considerable delay in not being able to receive tax credits. Thankfully, the group received two hefty grants in previous years to get the project going. First, the city awarded Inner City Entertainment $2.5 million in Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grants. Then, last year the developers received $800,000 as one of the ten grant recipients from the Chicago Community Trust’s We Rise Together initiative.
“[Due to the pandemic,] construction pricing went up and some materials were getting scarce,” Starks told Block Club Chicago last year. “We’re hoping those prices will come down a little bit or maintain, but not go up any further. Our new target grand opening date is June 2023, but no later than November 2023.”
