HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Highland Park City Council on Monday approved a contract with F.H. Paschen for construction management services for the permanent Place of Remembrance tied to the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day Parade shooting.
The contract covers the pre-construction and bidding stages and will have F.H. Paschen working with SWA Group, the project architect, to develop a project budget, review bids, select trades and oversee construction.
The city began the planning effort in 2023, when the City Council established a Working Group to guide the process for a permanent Place of Remembrance.
The memorial has three primary objectives: to create an accessible public place for reflection, remembrance and solace, to pay tribute to Katie Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, Kevin Michael McCarthy, Jacki Lovi Sundheim, Stephen Straus, Nicolas Toledo and Eduardo Uvaldo, and to honor the community's resiliency, especially those who were injured. The Working Group has been meeting regularly since November 2023.
In April 2026, the city issued a Request for Proposals for construction manager services for the project. According to the document, a review team that included representatives from the City Manager's Office, the Public Works Department and the project architect reviewed three responses from construction management firms and interviewed the firms. After evaluation, city staff recommended F.H. Paschen as the most qualified firm.
City Council previously supported a preliminary budget of $2 million for construction of the Place of Remembrance. At the June 8 Committee of the Whole meeting, the City Council supported an updated budget of $2.3 million to $2.8 million for the Rose Garden site, with Port Clinton costs still under development.
The city chose not to pursue active fundraising to be sensitive to the broad impact of the shooting on the community. Still, the city has received several donations, including a restricted gift of $1 million from Jon and Mindy Gray and other gifts directed to the permanent Place of Remembrance.
The permanent Place of Remembrance will include a primary installation at the Rose Garden and a secondary installation at Port Clinton Plaza.
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