The nonprofit behind a proposed 550-seat performing arts center in downtown Elmhurst will hold a gala this fall to raise money toward a roughly $25 million fundraising target.
Encore Center for Performing Arts will host its 2026 Spotlight Giving Gala, titled "The Future Takes the Stage," on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 5:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, according to the organization's event page. A cocktail reception opens the night, followed by dinner and a program at 7 p.m. and live music and dancing afterward. Cocktail attire is requested.
ECPA board chair Jeff Budgell, who is co-chairing the gala alongside Sue Vargas, Francine Pepitone and Stephen Erenburg, said the organization is ready to accelerate.
"ECPA is finally ready for take-off … With our project advancing rapidly, we are ready to seize the day," Budgell said in a statement reported by Patch.
State Rep. Marti Deuter, whose district includes Elmhurst, will serve as honorary chair.
The gala follows a turbulent stretch for the decade-old nonprofit. ECPA, founded in 2016, wants to build a 550-seat theater and a 185-unit apartment building in the 100 block of West First Street, across from the Elmhurst Metra station. The site spans nearly one acre.
Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies withdrew from the project in March 2026, citing rising costs, design concerns and the city's inability to capture tax increment financing revenue beyond the project parcel, Patch reported in September. ECPA then signed a letter of intent with a new developer. As of July, ECPA president Mark George said he was not at liberty to name the firm.
George, the former longtime president and CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago, said the new partnership cuts ECPA's fundraising target from roughly $60 million to about $25 million.
"It's in the best interest of the developer to have a nonprofit as an anchor for the project," George said in a June 30 Patch report. "There truly is a community interest."
According to ECPA's economic impact study, the completed center would generate $8.2 million in yearly economic activity and bring $202,000 a year in tax revenue directly to Elmhurst.
Not everyone is on board. Some residents have spoken against the project at City Council meetings, objecting to tall downtown apartment buildings and increased traffic, Patch reported.
ECPA points to 2026 milestones including the new developer, George's hiring as president and expanded relationships with DuPage County businesses. Ticket prices and a fundraising goal for the Nov. 14 gala have not been publicly announced.
