Construction starts on major expansion to Hemmens Cultural Center in downtown Elgin

The city of Elgin broke ground Wednesday on a $12.8 million expansion and renovation of the Hemmens Cultural Center, a effort expected to improve the functionality of the 54-year-old entertainment venue and bring in new kinds of programming.

“This is really a critical day, and it’s very monumental for this city,” Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain said at the ceremony celebrating the construction start.

The Hemmens was built as part of the Civic Center Plaza complex in 1969, a development that dramatically changed downtown Elgin and became an integral part of the city, Kaptain said.

A 9,500-square-foot addition will reorient the entrance to the building’s north side, and includes a new lobby, box office, handicap-accessible first-floor restrooms, a large gathering space and bar area with access to a second-floor balcony, and additional dressing rooms.

The project, being funded with Tax Increment Financing District money, state grants and cash from the city’s general fund, also calls for an upgraded elevator, structural borings and fire-control materials.

Amanda Montressor, a 20-year Hemmens employee who currently works as its patron relations supervisor, told those at the groundbreaking that her personal connection to the Hemmens dates back to her childhood. She remembers performing there during Gould Academy of Dance Arts events, graduating from its stage during her Elgin Community College commencement ceremony and accompanying her niece to her first professional play, “The Wizard of Oz.”

“It’s been a long time coming, and it’ll be great to see the expansion,” Montressor said of the addition.

Not only will the box office will be more easily accessible, a covered drop-off area will protect patrons from the elements, she said.

Designed by Cordogan, Clark, and Associates, the expansion creates a new reception area and an outdoor balcony that complements the existing building’s architecture.

“It’s going to look phenomenal once the construction is done,” Montressor said.

Among those joining Kaptain and other dignitaries in donning white construction hats and posing for photos with silver shovels was Clare Ollayos, chair of the task force charged with deciding if the Hemmens needed to be replaced, something that’s been discussed for 20 years.

Ultimately it was decided “we needed to put upgrades on (the existing building),” said Ollayos, who also has deep ties to the Hemmens and Elgin’s cultural arts community. For more than 30 years she performed in “The Nutcracker” ballet presented by a local company and worked as the center’s first female technician.

Ollayos said she was pleased that upgrades were being made to the venue’s acoustics and electrical equipment and that first-floor restroom facilities were finally being added — a longtime patron request.

The hope is all of the changes will result in more performing arts programming coming to Elgin, she said.

Hemmens’ design, inspired by the work of famed architect Mies van der Rohe, has a place in history, Kaptain said, and the addition is a natural fit.

“We should be proud of that,” the mayor said. “This is a wonderful idea. The city has now put well over $10 million dollars in the reconstruction and remodel of this facility and it’s money well spent.”

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.