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Loud neighbors with a liquor license
As exciting as it must have been to have a House of Blues move into the complex, over time the relationship cooled between the loud music nightclub and the hundreds of residents who lived above it.
By November 1998, two years after HOB opened, a petition was circulating to tear up the liquor licenses in the tiny 27th Precinct that is comprised mostly of Marina City.
Residents enlisted their alderman, Burton Natarus of the 42nd Ward, to warn HOB at a November 10 City Council meeting.
“Do you regard your establishment as a place for concerts or sporting events?” Natarus asked House of Blues talent buyer Michael Yerke, who was at the meeting to support an unrelated issue. “In my neighborhood, most people feel you are a sporting event. You can’t control the crowds, and you have noise at night.”
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Michael Yerke was named Nightclub Talent Buyer of the Year at Pollstar magazine’s concert industry awards in 2006.
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Burton Natarus was 42nd Ward Alderman from 1971 to 2007. He sought re-election for a tenth term but was defeated by Brendan Reilly. (Above) Natarus at his last city council meeting on May 9, 2007.
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Natarus said he had gathered his information firsthand, leaving HOB as late as 5 a.m. “Your [security] people do nothing, absolutely nothing. Everybody shouts and screams, and all they do is fold their arms.”
General Manager Warner Hedrick III later told the Chicago Tribune that he had implemented special training for security personnel, altered parking to minimize noise, and cut back on the times at which music acts finish.
“We strive to have a peaceful co-existence and nurture a positive relationship,” he said.
Hedrick was later Vice President of Food & Beverage for the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In April 2007, he was hired by the Starwood Hotel group to serve as a corporate director of beverage.
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Chicago’s 42nd Ward. Precinct 27 is highlighted in blue near the center. |
Two years went by...
Rap music became popular. Insane Clown Posse, described by Rolling Stone magazine as “greasepainted buffoons from Detroit [who] built a small empire around personae of ultraviolent (as well as misogynist, homophobic, and racist) rapping clowns,” was performing to large crowds at the House of Blues at Marina City. Lines would curl around the block and in front of entrances to the residential towers. It was, said residents, a potentially dangerous nuisance.
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Insane Clown Posse |
Marina City resident Margaret Montoye told the Chicago Tribune that in January 2000, at about 5:50 on a Sunday evening, she had been shoved, kicked, and punched in the stomach by several people waiting in line to see Insane Clown Posse.
House of Blues officials disputed that any serious incidents were linked to the music club, but they told residents that security would be beefed up. This included at least two off-duty police officers and 18 to 24 guards in and around the building. Whenever large crowds were expected, extra guards would be placed at the residential entrances.
Alderman Natarus told the Chicago Tribune in July that security outside HOB was a growing problem and he wanted the liquor control commission to hold public hearings on the matter. The commission scheduled a community meeting for July 11 but later postponed it, saying they needed a bigger room.
Montoye, who lived at Marina City for ten years, recalls the hearing was eventually held and HOB agreed to improve security. “There was also a follow-up meeting with the Liquor Commissioner, myself and the HOB to confirm that security had been increased.”
Jim Curtin, president of Marina Towers Condominium Association, told the Chicago Tribune that in general, residents enjoyed living near House of Blues, but security was an issue.
“There are definitely concerns we have about the House of Blues and security. They’re not a bad neighbor, but the problem comes when they have a full house. And I think they are going to have to ask themselves how much is it worth to them? Is it worth putting another security guard out there?”
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Jim Jablonski, who was then general manager of House of Blues, told the Chicago Tribune, “I think we’re very conscious of managing our crowds. It’s just one of those things when you’re popular, you’re going to have crowds.”
Jim Jablonski in 2004.
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According to residential property manager Thomas Engblom, condo prices had soared in the past four years as the commercial development evolved to include the nightclub, hotel, and two restaurants. One-bedroom apartments were selling for around $180,000 – twice what they were four years earlier.
Thomas Engblom is currently Assistant Vice President at Community Association Banc’s office in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
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Mark sues HOB over cost overruns
Meanwhile, things were not going smoothly for the partners in the redevelopment of the House of Blues nightclub and hotel.
In late October 2001, it was revealed that John Mark was suing House of Blues Entertainment, Inc. The lawsuit had been pending in U.S. District Court for more than a year.
The chairman of Mark IV Group alleged that construction of the hotel was mismanaged, resulting in more than $10 million in cost overruns and lost revenue.
HOB said it was a third partner in the hotel venture, Nomura Asset Capital Corporation, which was at fault, but Nomura was not sued.
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