NW Design Review Board approves Taproot Theatre’s expansion plans

The NW Design Review Board last night approved Taproot Theatre’s plans to expand into the space formerly occupied by the Eleanor Roosevelt building, which burned in a 2009 arson.

Courtesy of The Miller Hull Partnership.
Taproot plans a second theater, dressing rooms, offices, scene workshop and a café and wine bar at 208 N. 85th Street.
The theater is working with The Miller Hull Partnership to design the expansion, and Method Homes, which manufactures prefabricated structures. Most of the building will be constructed inside Method Homes’ factory; electrical and plumbing connections and finish work will only take a few weeks once the modular pieces are installed on the site.
In a change from the original proposal, the building façade will be set back three feet to the north, to increase the width of the sidewalk, making it safer for people who stand on the sidewalk before and after each show. (Currently, the crowded sidewalks put people uncomfortably close to traffic on North 85th Street.)
You can see a PDF of Taproot’s updated plans here.