New Plans for Historic Highland Park Theater Site Finally Coming Together

It looks like some big changes are finally afoot at a long-dormant spot in downtown Highland Park, following the city’s decision to give up its stake in the old Highland Park Theater on Central Avenue last year. After rejecting a plan to revive the historic theater for a new age shortly thereafter, it looks like the city’s plans for outright transformation have officially begun. Opened in 1925 and owned by the city since 2009, the theater is definitely a historic site worth remembering, but after being closed due to safety issues in 2012, its fate has been up in the air. Now, the companies that have been invited by the city to present development proposals are finally doing just that, though precisely which one will win out is still uncertain.

Originally announced more than two years ago, five applicants were considered for the site alongside a proposed community revitalization effort lead by a nonprofit organization called the Alcyon Foundation, though its plans to revitalize the theater in to a multi-use performance center were, sadly, eventually rejected by city officials for lack of funding. Naturally seeking to reclaim as much of their original $2 million investment as possible, city officials have now been presented with the official plans of their original applicants at a recent public meeting, and now it seems that deliberation for the last stage of the change is underway.

So far, the plans presented have involved an eight-story hotel, a six-story condominium building, a combined condo-townhome project, an indoor market, and a five-story office building. With the gestation of the project obviously dragging on for some time, city officials seem relieved to finally be moving forward with plans to develop the space. “It just got to the point where we need to be done with this conversation,” Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering went so far as to say. At the bottom line, she says, “this is something that has to be fiscally reasonable as far as the city is concerned,” as well as a healthy addition to the downtown Highland Park neighborhood proper.

Stated plans have made clear that the various proposals at hand offer a wide range of approaches, with the indoor market space standing alone in making an attempt to preserve the original theater structure. As always, though, the bottom line is that change is an undeniable part of life, and Highland Park is no exception. Though we do wish grassroots community efforts better luck in finding some new ways to successfully apply local teamwork efforts to keeping things personal with new development in the future, considering the circumstances, it seems that things have worked out as well as possible. And all of us here at Lexus of Highland Park, your local Lexus Dealer in Highland Park, can’t help but look forward to whatever it is that this particular metamorphosis has to yet to bring in the new season!