RIVER NORTH — A plan to build a kinky social club in River North to let people play out their sexual fantasies is now off the table, city officials said Tuesday.
Galleria Domain 2, which applied last fall to open a new fetish lounge at 356 W. Superior St., withdrew its zoning application last month, said Peter Strazzabosco, the city's deputy commissioner of planning and development.
No explanation was given for the Feb. 18 move.
The club raised eyebrows in November when it applied to open a private sex club in the tony neighborhood. The business's unusually frank and detailed public notice (below) drew chuckles, but also concern from those who lived nearby.
A public notice posted to the storefront last fall at 356 W. Superior St. [DNAinfo/David Matthews]
"Any person in any neighborhood across the country would not want a sex club across the street from their home," Amanda Cespedes, one neighbor, told DNAinfo Chicago then. Cespedes declined to comment Tuesday.
Reporter David Matthews talks about the neighborhood where the club was trying to locate.
According to its website, Galleria Domain 2 is a private club where members "meet people with similar interests, find fellowship, and learn about kink, leather, fetish and BDSM." Parties with "scenes" are held on weekends, but alcohol is not served and members agree to confidentiality agreements. The business currently has a club near Western and North avenues, according to its website.
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"We believe that the full expression of human sexuality by adults provides opportunities for experiencing pleasure and joy, creating and developing intimacy, promoting spiritual growth, and finding and sustaining fulfilling interpersonal relationships," the website says.
The club's owners and Jeremy Bell and Avni Shah, the Chicago lawyers who represented the club in its zoning application, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
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