Highland Park Cautions Developer on Solo Cup Revamp

Red Cup Land Company has a tough road ahead as it plans to revamp an industrial site in Highland Park that’s been vacant for 15 years.

The company aims to build two warehouses totalling about 300,000 square feet, on the now-vacant 29-acre property at 1700 Old Deerfield Road, where Solo Cup operated from 1960 to 2008, the Record North Shore reported. Red Cup would utilize the facilities for manufacturing, processing, storage, wholesaling and distribution purposes.

The little-known developer is an Illinois LLC whose manager is a company called Newsweb that has historically printed small-circulation newspapers and lists a Lincoln Park address and Catherine Danz, a former longtime real estate attorney for the firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, as its CEO, according to public records and previous news reports.

The Highland Park redevelopment proposal was discussed at a community meeting in July, drawing a horde of local residents, before being presented to Highland Park’s design commission last month. Red Cup was criticized by officials due to a lack of details regarding the project, the outlet reported.

“The lack of specificity with all this is extremely troubling, because you are asking for a very intense development,” Commission Chair Walter Hainsfurther said during the meeting. “… This is a permitted use (but) it’s a far more intense than what I normally would expect here. To be honest, I wouldn’t be prepared to vote for this any time soon without that specificity being brought to us.”

Hainsfurther requested that the firm provide more information on the user and uses of the warehouses, as well as its potential impact on traffic, noise and pollution, which are common concerns surrounding industrial developments.

The developer wants to construct one 183,000-square-foot and one 127,050-square-foot building, each rising 41 feet. The development would include 46 docking bays, nearly 600 parking spaces and possibly up to 79 drive-in doors.

Rich Coulter, an attorney representing Red Cup, argued that the project would reinvigorate a long-vacant site and create 200 permanent jobs, while generating $1.5 million in annual property tax revenue for the northern Chicago suburb. He added that the light industrial buildings would produce far less noise, congestion and environmental hazards compared to when Solo Cup operated at the site. Although, the property’s close proximity to nearby schools remains a concern.

Among the various challenges, the development would impinge on an environmentally sensitive wetlands area, requiring Highland Park officials to approve an amendment, the outlet reported. Moreover, the developer’s plan calls for the removal of 14 trees, meaning it won’t have the support of the municipal forestry department, the outlet reported.

The fate of the proposed industrial center remains uncertain as community opposition and the need for additional information persist. Further discussions between the developer and Highland Park officials are scheduled for Oct. 17.

— Quinn Donoghue