Highland Park residents who participated in a city survey weren’t keen on the idea of redeveloping the Highland Park Theater site into a six-story, luxury condominium building with units priced around $1 million.
They favored a proposal to adapt the existing theater into a two-story indoor marketplace, but harbored misgivings about the market’s economic viability in a city the size of Highland Park.
Those were among the findings to arise from an online survey of community opinion about the five proposals for redeveloping the site of the Highland Park Theater and the adjacent parking lot. More than 350 people took part in the survey, which was open between Sept. 21 and Oct. 17.
“What we found was that the two residential projects tend to be the least favored,” said Joel Fontane, the city’s director of community development during a presentation of the findings Oct. 26. “The most favored proposal by a significant margin was the indoor marketplace by Dayan.”
Fontane stressed the survey was a voluntary and unscientific instrument. “It is not a random sample of people in our community,” Fontane said. “Therefore, the results only reflect the sentiments of the survey respondents and not necessarily the public as a whole.”
Highland Park resident Medwin Dayan and architect Garry Shumaker are proposing to repurpose the theater as an indoor marketplace featuring artisan vendors of fresh meats, seafood, cheeses, baked goods and seasonal produce. The concept drew favorable or very favorable ratings from two-thirds of survey takers.
In comments, survey takers speculated the market could potentially become a destination attraction that would introduce shoppers to the area’s surrounding boutiques. Some saw the market as a community gathering place. However, 31 percent of those commenting on the market proposal raised concerns about its success.
“The question is whether such a market would succeed, and will Highland Park simply be left with more empty retail space,” noted one respondent.
Ranking second highest was a proposal from former Highland Park Mayor Raymond Geraci and developer David Katz to construct a boutique hotel and condominium complex that originally was to include a 500-seat performing arts venue. The project drew favorable or very favorable ratings from one-third of respondents. “There was a lot of concern about the building’s height,” Fontane said.
After presenting a proposal for an eight-story building on Sept. 21, Geraci and Katz removed the theater, citing tepid interest from the city, and reduced the height to six stories. Their revised plan calls for 95 to 100 hotel rooms and suites, as well as 28 to 30 luxury condominiums priced between $750,000 and $1.5 million. The hotel would include a banquet facility for private functions and a conference center.
Two all-residential proposals from the Morningside Group and Baker Development Corp. ranked lowest of the five proposals. Baker’s plan for 10 two-story townhouses along with 31 condominiums fared better than Morningside’s proposal for a 59-unit, six-story structure built along Central Avenue. In Baker’s plan, the low-rise townhouses would front onto Central Avenue and the six-story condominium building would be to the north.
Expressing a common sentiment, one survey taker noted, “I am not in favor of assets owned by the City of Highland Park in the heart of the downtown shopping district being sold to private enterprise so others can get rich. The property should be for the betterment of the community, not just those that can afford the $1.1-million condo pricetags.”
Others, however, saw the luxury condominiums as filling a need that would keep affluent empty-nesters from leaving Highland Park for the City of Chicago. Some saw the residential projects as the surest way to generate additional tax revenue.
Survey participants were most indifferent about a proposal from Scott Canel and the Canel Companies to redevelop the property into a five-story office building, restaurant and urban garden in two phases, according to the city. While some lauded the goal of using the restaurant to provide job training opportunities to people with disabilities, others questioned the need for additional office space, or raised concern that construction could stop after only one phase was completed.
The city has not publicly disclosed the terms of the purchase offers from the developers. Mayor Nancy Rotering said the city council will be considering the financial offers in light of the city’s theater investment as well as the impact on the neighborhood. “One of the variables is, How do we best support our business district with whatever happens on the property,” Rotering said.
The city purchased the struggling theater for $2.1 million in 2009 with an eye on preserving the space as a performing arts venue. The city gave up on that idea in early 2014 after an agreement with a private developer didn’t pan out, and a group of local supporters found little charitable interest in financially backing its proposal.
“We’ve lost our shirts on this debacle,” wrote one survey respondent. “Do something that will generate money for the city.”
kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com @KarenABerkowitz
