Fort Sheridan concert hall sounds good to City Council — but not to zoning commission and dozens of Highwood residents

Highwood City Council members voted 4-2 on Tuesday to allow a local music conservatory to construct a new 728-seat concert hall adjacent to the Fort Sheridan community.

The vote capped a five-hour session over the Midwest Young Artist Conservatory’s petition to rezone a four-acre plot of vacant land adjacent to their headquarters from residential to commercial. The vote on Tuesday followed public commentary from 57 different individuals.

The majority of those public speakers identified themselves as Highwood residents opposed to the development as they urged the city council to listen to the Highwood Planning and Zoning Commission’s 8-1 vote on June 18 to recommend denial of MYAC’s zoning request.

Councilmembers M. Brad Slavin, Krista Hanson, Mike Fiore and George Markoutsas voted in favor of MYAC’s petition, while Councilmembers Robyn Bauer and Andy Peterson voted against it.

“This milestone marks an important step forward for our project and reflects the shared vision we have with the city — one that balances growth, culture, and long-term positive impact,” said J Schneider, chair of MYAC’s building committee, in an email after the Tuesday session.

He continued, “We remain committed to working with all stakeholders as we bring this project to life in a way that supports arts education and adds lasting value to Highwood.”

MYAC’s current headquarters, located at 878 Lyster Road in Fort Sheridan, sees an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people annually as its 40-plus staff members provide musical instruction to approximately 450 students every weekend throughout the school year.

MYAC President Allan Dennis told The Record that MYAC’s 900 enrollees need a space of their own to practice and perform because the stages in its headquarters cannot accommodate its large orchestras and bigger venues nearby now offer less availability, forcing students to travel far.

MYAC’s plan for the concert hall generated a swell of organized opposition from area residents who argue that the new concert hall does not fit next to a national historic district and that MYAC’s leadership has failed to address a host of concerns about its plan.

In an email to The Record, Susan Lazar, president of opposition group Friends of Historic Fort Sheridan, pointed out the overwhelming 8-1 decision of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

“(The council’s vote) is unsupported by the evidence presented, completely dismissive of the community’s overwhelming objection to this proposal, and unjustifiable under Highwood’s City Code,” she added. 

MYAC will now begin fundraising for the $29-40 million it needs to build the new concert hall — a four-story, 41,702-square foot building that will sit on a footprint of 23,000-square feet at the same height of the school’s adjacent headquarters, according to its blueprint. 

MYAC hopes to raise those funds within two years and finish construction within five, Schneider said.

City stipulations

Before the meeting’s public comment section took place, city council members ran through a list of 11 conditions MYAC will need to comply with before building its new concert hall. 

Among the conditions are: that MYAC must pay for any public safety related support from the city, like traffic enforcement related to concerts, review emergency access points during the final building permit application and enter into an agreement to limit how many shows take place at the concert hall.

The venue will hold 18 full-capacity events and 30 less-than-full-capacity events a year, according to MYAC.

MYAC must also construct a vault system to restrict the release of storm water runoff and contribute to the maintenance of stormwater facilities owned by the Fort Sheridan’s Homeowners Association.

Answering questions from the council, Schneider said the lights in MYAC’s new parking lot won’t be used outside of concerts and MYAC can look into providing an annual free scholarship to a Highwood resident.

MYAC already distributes free tickets to its concerts and $100,000-worth of need-based financial aid every year, according to the school.

Weighing in, Mayor Charlie Pecaro said concerns that the new concert hall will reduce the economic value of nearby homes cannot be proven. City Manager Scott Coren affirmed that Highwood’s police and fire departments have reviewed MYAC’s plan for the building and provided no comments. 

Appearing conflicted on where to land, Markoutsas put forth a motion to delay the vote by a month in order to review more information on MYAC’s plan. But no other council member seconded the motion.

“I respect so many of the voices and people that are sitting around here,” Markoutsas said as members of the audience groaned. “I stand for arts and culture and I feel like this (voting no) would be turning my back on that. But I guess my promise would be to try and hold the developer accountable.”

Sustained vocal opposition

Out of the 57 public speakers who addressed the city council, 48 stated opposition to MYAC’s plan for a new concert hall near Fort Sheridan. One man said he will sue the city if the council supports rezoning.

Many emphasized they support the arts and MYAC’s mission, but repeated concerns voiced during the planning and zoning committee’s May 21 and June 18 hearings which, just like Tuesday, each drew more than 100 attendees and ran for hours as numerous area residents lined up to share their objections.

Public speakers reiterated they find faults in MYAC’s commissioned traffic study and believe the venue will add congestion to neighborhood streets which will dangerously impact local EMS response times, all while other ongoing real-estate developments are already set to boost Highwood’s density.

The new concert hall and surrounding parking lot will exacerbate existing storm water issues, its landscaping plans are unrealistic, and MYAC has not provided a business plan or financial report that proves it can afford building or maintaining the huge new venue, public speakers argued. 

As a result of rezoning the four-acre lot, which could otherwise contain 8-15 residential homes, Highwood will lose out on property tax revenue and the youth who will utilize the venue will not spend at local businesses, public speakers argued. 

Furthermore, MYAC has failed to properly communicate or collaborate with neighboring residents, the city’s decision to rezone contradicts language in Highwood’s 2013 comprehensive plan and the music school could find another location elsewhere to build their concert hall, public speakers argued.

Holly Ledvina, a Fort Sheridan resident, told the council members that she and other residents met with MYAC twice, most recently in April, without satisfying results.

“Unfortunately these meetings have been difficult, they are often tense and rarely productive. It has taken a real toll on the trust between MYAC and our Prall’s Loop neighborhood,” Ledvina said. “The property in question has always been zoned residential and for good reason, the zoning reflects the character of our community.”

‘No reason to doubt them now’

Nine individuals urged the city council to support MYAC’s plan during Tuesday’s public comment session; they expressed faith in MYAC’s leadership, urged the council to ignore “fear tactics” and argued Highwood cannot err by pursuing the culture a vibrant new art center would bring to the city.

Larry Block, a Highwood resident and cellist with MYAC’s Highland Park Strings, noted the orchestra draws 400 to 500 people to its concerts but it has no dedicated venue.

“My message to you council members … is you now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make Highwood famous for accomplishing what other municipalities can only dream of, building a performing arts center for classical music which will offer a wide range of benefits,” Block said.

After the vote was called, some audience members booed and called “shame” on city council members.

“This matter is far from over,” Lazar said in her email, as the group of Fort Sheridan residents plans on to take a closer look at the council’s decision and consider its options moving forward. 

Lazar highlighted that the city council only obtained a transcript from the June 18 planning and zoning commission on Monday, and argued the council had little to no time to review the updated public record, which “suggests a level of consideration not nearly commensurate with the magnitude of this vote.”

The city packet on Tuesday’s agenda item ultimately consisted of 1,010-pages, 627 of which were letters or slides from individuals, many professing objection to MYAC’s development. 

Coren noted the original planning and zoning commission meeting on MYAC’s development meeting was scheduled for August 2024 and the city has discussed changes to the plan for over a year. Transcripts from the May 21 commission meeting were made available to council members on June 10, he said.

“It’s always difficult for one side when a vote doesn’t go their way but this was one of the most intensive planning and zoning review processes conducted in this region in quite some time,” Coren said. “The process we followed was extensive, we allowed everyone an opportunity to speak.”

“It was an emotional night,” Pecaro said after Tuesday’s vote, as the more than 100 still-remaining audience members began filing out of the Highwood Recreation Center around 12 a.m.

“The residents put up a very good fight but I think the council looked to the future and we’re betting that MYA can do everything they promised, so hopefully it works out,” Pecaro said. “They’re a good organization, they’ve been here 25-30 years and there’s no reason to doubt them now.”