Dec. 12--A series of summertime parties that transformed Loop alleys into lively music- and art-filled spaces helped drive almost $400,000 to downtown businesses, the group behind the events said in a report released Friday.
The Chicago Loop Alliance, which promotes the downtown business district, said the six "Activate" alley parties it held from May through October, plus one test event in September 2013, drew about 14,400 revelers to overlooked nooks in the city center, which usually empties out after dark.
The purpose of the parties was to spur interest and investment in the Loop by showcasing it from surprising angles and to get the daytime crowds to linger after work to eat, drink and shop. Almost 300,000 people work in the Loop daily.
In a survey the Loop Alliance conducted of 665 attendees, 78 percent said they spent money at Loop businesses before, during or after the party, with each person spending an average of $35. The alliance estimates that the potential gain for Loop businesses was $393,120, which it considers a success.
"We're very happy with the amount of lingering," said Loop Alliance Executive Director Mike Edwards. "People stuck around."
Guy DeFazio, general manager of Vapiano restaurant at 44 S. Wabash Ave., said his business benefited.
"The turnout of guests coming to dine and socialize after the event was phenomenal," said DeFazio, whose restaurant is around the corner from the Sullivan Center alley, where two of the parties were held. He estimates that he got at least 100 additional customers each of those nights as people wandered in for late-night pizzas and stayed for a drink at the bar.
Edwards, who calls alleys "the unsung heroes" of Chicago for enabling work like garbage hauling to occur mostly out of sight, said the group was "pleasantly surprised" by the enthusiasm for the parties, which exhibited the work of 143 local artists. Seven murals commissioned for the events remain in the alleys.
Much of the popularity, Edwards said, was thanks to the artists, who brought with them large fan bases from throughout the city.
"I think it was a big, big impact," said Ian Lantz, an artist who painted a mural on a school bus for the June 5 party in the alley next to the Chicago Theater. "People came together, they congregated and before you know it they were going to a restaurant nearby, to a bar nearby."
Lantz received several commissions for new projects as a result of the exposure. It also helped him attract clients for his day job as an executive at a technology staffing company in the Loop, simply because people were intrigued by his art, he said.
The Chicago Loop Alliance spent $123,000 to throw the parties, Edwards said. About half of the funding drew from the State Street Special Service Area, which levies an additional tax on properties within a designated area for services like landscaping and snow removal. The rest came from sponsorships and beer and wine sales at the events.
Edwards said the group plans to host the monthly alley parties next year and "enhance" the experience.
The alley parties were among several of the alliance's "place-making" initiatives, an urban planning tool that reimagines public spaces to deepen the connection between people and their communities.
Pritzker Park, an underused park near the Harold Washington Library Center, was another focus of place-making. The alliance held 24 artistic programs there during the summer that drew about 1,250 people for activities like yoga and dance performances, the group said.
Amy King, art consultant and curator at King Art Collective, which curated one of the Activate alley parties and several Pritzker Park events, said it takes time to recondition people who have long avoided the park. But some events resonated. She remembers a yoga teacher presiding over 20 participants with their mats in the middle of the weekday, and some people walking by in suits joined in.
"It changes the vibe of that space," King said.
aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com
