Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker, Illinois state officials, and staff of top Chicago A/V production and event firm to break ground on new home, celebrate economic development investment in near west suburb
AV Chicago design renderings courtesy DesignSmak, Siamak Mostoufi, architect
WHO: AV Chicago (avchicago.com) Presidents and Owners Justin Frick, Andrew Brode and staff; Nathaniel George Booker, Mayor, Village of Maywood; Angela Smith, Director of Community Development for Maywood; and regional and state economic development officials
WHAT: Will celebrate and host an official groundbreaking with shovels and hard hats
WHERE: 50 Madison Street, Maywood, Illinois
*From I-290/Eisenhower Expressway: Exit First St., north .5 miles to Madison St., east .1 mile
WHEN: Thursday, January 23, 10 a.m.
WHY: AV Chicago, one of Chicagoland’s leading event production firms, has purchased the commercial property at 50 Madison Street in Maywood, and plans to renovate the 43,000-square-foot building – once a military armory – into a new, $4 million+ facility for audio/visual production and event management services.
Built in 1923, the building at 50 Madison Street opened as a Moose Lodge clubhouse and automobile camping ground for “motoring Moose who prefer to camp out rather than stop at Chicago hotels” (Chicago Daily Tribune, Feb. 16, 1923). By the 1940s, it was home to the Illinois National Guard 33rd Tank Company, where 122 men were inducted and served in the 192nd Tank Battalion in the Philippines. It was later home to Saltzman Printers, and most recently, Reuse Depot.
AV Chicago looks forward to relocating from its rented space of 13 years in Chicago’s South Loop, to invest in its own, new home base in nearby Maywood. AV Chicago will bring with it more than 40 employees, thousands of visitors, a new economic engine, and a cool new destination in Maywood, conveniently located right off I-290.
AV Chicago produces high-end, corporate and social events, specializing in audio, video, lighting and staging. Meeting planners, event producers, marketers, venues, and nonprofits rely on AV Chicago to set the stage for meaningful events, including small and large meetings, conferences, galas and fundraisers, public performances and private gatherings.
When completed in late 2025/early 2026, AV Chicago’s new Maywood home will feature new offices and meeting spaces, a new, 7,500-square-foot high-end special event space for weddings, receptions, meetings, and other in-person, rental events, plus on-site parking for staff, clients and event attendees.
HOW: AV Chicago partnered with the Village of Maywood, West Regional Enterprise Zone, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development to acquire 50 Madison Street and earned incentives from the state to create a viable purchase/rehab/reuse package. To celebrate, AV Chicago leaders, staff and clients will join city and state officials, don hardhats, and wield shovels to break ground on AV Chicago’s new “forever home.”
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