Sue Ter Maat, TribLocal reporter
The Rosewood Beach pavilion project is on hold until Highland Park Park District gets more public feedback, officials said.
The district is planning a public meeting sometime in September, said Executive Director Liza McElroyr
A date has not been set yet, she said. The district will notify residents living near the beach by letter, McElroy said. Other residents who have expressed interest in the project will be contacted as well, she said. The district may reassess the project after gathering more resident comments, she said.
Dubbed the Rosewood Beach Lakefront Pavilion, the nearly 4,000-square-foot structure would include restrooms, showers, changing areas and a concession stand. The project also calls for a new playground, a handicapped accessible beach route and a refurbished ravine path, officials said.
The previous beach house had been demolished in 2006. In the meantime, the district has been providing portable toilets, officials said.
The delay may prevent the district from opening the beach house next summer as it had planned, said Park District Board President Lorenz Werhane Jr.
“We may lose the window to time to build it, but it’s important that we make sure it’s right,” Werhane said.
The project had been put on hold after the city’s Design Review Commission this month voted it down by a 3-2 margin, Werhane said. The commission is a recommending body to the city council, which would make the final decision.
City Councilwoman Nancy Rotering, a city council liaison to the commission, said the dissenting members felt the project was too large in scope for the beach.
Highland Park resident Bob Laemle hopes the park district comes up with a plan that allows residents to spend more time on the beach.
“In a general sense, we favor a food service and meet up place,” said Laemle, who was at the beach Tuesday with his wife, Peggy.
Another resident who was at the beach, Keith Youngman, said while the project may be more than what beach goers needs, it would be a welcomed addition overall.
“I think it’s good because the suburbs south of here have (a beach house),” Youngman said “It’d be nice to bring more families here. I think it would fit here. We have the space on the beach for it.”
