Theater Redevelopment Approved By Highland Park City Council

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Nearly nine years after the City of Highland Park purchased the Highland Park Theater and more than nine months after it sold the property to a local real estate firm, council members directed city officials Monday to draw up documents for final approval of a redevelopment plan for the site at 441 and 447 Central Avenue, Highland Park News reports.

Developer Scott Canel plans to create multiple ground floor retail spaces, second floor office space and a restaurant to provide employment skills and job opportunities to young people with developmental disabilities, according to the paper. He plans to name the restaurant Lindsey's Place, after his daughter. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Highland Park — or your Illinois community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

While some owners of downtown commercial property spoke against the reduction of available parking from the plan Monday, Mayor Nancy Rotering said the developer is rebuilding a city-owned parking lot as part of its deal to buy the theater, Highland Park News reported.

"I have to tell you that I am starting to get frustrated that we have been saddled with this building for nine years," Rotering said, according to the paper. "We have spent an inordinate amount of time and city resources, first to try to make it into a viable theater, then to make it into some sort of viable property."

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_{Top photo: Highland Park Theater | Tim Moran}