Esquire Theater to close

Long run over for Esquire Theater
Mixed-use complex eyed for Oak Street

By Susan Diesenhouse
Tribune staff reporter
Published September 14, 2006

The last movies will show at the Esquire Theater on the Gold Coast Thursday, after which its owner will start raising the curtain on a possible retail-hotel complex that would replace the theater once its 1930s-era building is demolished.

"Our vision is to keep with, and add to, the street's luster and reputation for exclusive boutiques," said developer Jeffrey Shapack, a partner in Chicago-based M Development LLC.

The residential and retail developer acquired the Oak Street property four years ago. Most recently, AMC Entertainment Inc. has been managing the theater, often showing films that already have run at downtown megaplexes.

Shapack expects to begin demolishing the Esquire in about 14 months and start construction on a mixed-use complex likely to include retail, restaurants and, perhaps, a hotel or condominiums.
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