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The decision to sell constitutes quite a turnaround for the OTC: after the merger, Marlowe toyed with the idea of moving the whole operation from 2851 N. Halsted (the old Steppenwolf space) to a renovated and downsized Organic facility; in fact, rising rent on the Halsted address was part of what prompted Touchstone to join forces with the Organic in the first place. But Marlowe says she’s since reached a better agreement with the landlord, and so far OTC has only used the Clark Street venue to present a second run of Love! Valour! Compassion!
The OTC is asking $1.495 million for the complex, which comes out to about $70 per square foot–a little on the high side for the area, one real estate source says–and Marlowe says that as far as she knows the buyer will have to honor all existing leases.
State Arts Funds: The Big Get Richer
Sidestepping the question of whether the state should be putting so much money into the hands of so few, Illinois Arts Alliance executive director Alene Valkanas, whose group advocates $1 per capita arts funding (Illinois has about 12 million residents), says the grant is a step in the right direction. “We hope we can find the support in the state legislature to keep this money, now that it’s there in the Arts Council budget,” she says.
