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In the fall, the city will get a 500-seat venue in a historic midtown church.

La Rosa, a collaboration between former Hotel Congress entertainment director David Slutes and longtime Phoenix concert promoter and entertainment visionary Charlie Levy (The Van Buren, Crescent Ballroom, Valley Bar), will open in the chapel of the former Benedictine Monastery, 800 N. Country Club Road.

The venue fits the sweet spot for promoters looking for something smaller than the 1,200-seat Rialto or Fox ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ theaters on East Congress Street and a little bigger than the 300-seat Club Congress in Hotel Congress.

Slutes said La Rosa is “a beautiful venue� that can accommodate “very diverse programming,� from comedy to music of all genres. The size also opens up opportunities for local and regional performers as well as national touring acts, he said.

“This helps ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ become that place, that artist haven, that we all dreamed it could be and should be,â€� said Slutes, who called the project the third act of his entertainment career that started with his band the Sidewinders in the 1990s and included nearly 27 years as the Hotel Congress music director.

Slutes and Levy co-own La Rosa and are leasing the monastery space from the property’s owners, who bought it in 2017 from the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. The sisters, who had established the monastery in 1940, closed in 2018 and relocated to their Motherhouse in Clyde, Missouri.

“What drew me to this project was the opportunity to create something truly special for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s music community,â€� Levy said in a written release. “La Rosa will complement the city’s existing venues while bringing its own unique character to the scene.â€�

Slutes and Levy have had a long relationship going back to Slutes’ band days when Levy would book the Sidewinders into his Phoenix clubs. The pair also collaborated in 2010 on a ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ event protesting the state’s controversial SB1040 anti-immigration bill that led to statewide boycotts by musicians, conventions and professional sports.

Slutes said he and Levy have been working on the project for about a year, including meeting with residents in the Sam Hughes and Miramonte neighborhoods to get their blessings.

“Keeping the neighbors happy is key,� Slutes said.

Construction could begin as early as next week, he said, and it could be completed by September. The first shows could be on the La Rosa stage as early as October.

“What’s so charming about this place is it’s so beautiful, we didn’t want to do too much to it� beyond sound mitigation, Slutes said. “Mostly we’re leaving everythign as is where we can because it’s a beautiful, beautiful church.�

The project also will include an adjacent fast-casual restaurant and bar called Rosie’s Tavern that will serve pizza, pasta, sandwiches and salads. Slutes said he was not ready to disclose who would operate the restaurant.�