An artist rendering of what the coffee house and shared office space concept could look like; artist rendering by Rob Hassan
HIGHWOOD – When the Highwood City Council voted 4 -1 in favor of a coffee shop over a winery to go into the former Highwood Fire Station, it meant more than a business win.
“I’m into preservation and maintaining the integrity of the fire station,” said Michael Koenitz-Hudac, owner of Preservation Properties Group. “I want to make sure that people who come to the building understand that at one point it was an all-volunteer fire department. It’s about taking a building that was once a focal point for the community and finding uses that would bring a lot of pride and value to the community.”
Koenitz-Hudac added that he reached out to over 20 Highwood residents and asked them what they would like to go in that space and the number one response was a coffee shop. Additionally, the City of Highwood asked residents to choose between the coffee shop and the winery in advance of the May 16 City Council meeting.
The City of Highwood closed the fire station at 428 Green Bay Road in 2016 after partnering with Highland Park to deliver fire and emergency medical services.
Highwood City Manager Scott Coren also liked the proposal of the DiVito Family Winery which would include: public and private wine tasting rooms, a wine production area and a bar serving wine produced on site.
“It was a good problem, because we were picking between two good concepts,” said Coren. “But the coffee house is really a different concept than what we have in town. We have a Starbucks at the north end of town, but this is a nice communal gathering space in the downtown core. It keeps the fire house itself intact too, so people will remember that building for a long time to come.”
Coren explained that the next step is to work on the agreement to sell the fire station to Preservation Properties Group.
“We’ve approved the purchaser and the concept and now they’re working on plans to build it out,” he said. “They’re now in the period of due diligence where we’re working on the contract and they’re working on the actual build out and development plans for it. We’re expecting somewhere in the six-to-eight-week range to have an agreement back to the council.”
Coren said Tala Coffee Roasters will occupy half of the first floor with a possible bakery located in the remaining first floor space. A shared office space concept would go into the second floor of the fire station.
Koenitz-Hudac said he’s had interest from a bakery to go in there, but right now it’s in the beginning stages of finding an additional partner and turning the second floor into a co-work space that would enable small business owners or start-up companies to work in the community outside of the home.
Koenitz-Hudac said he looks forward to working with Tala Coffee Roasters, as it will be the “beginning of a great partnership. He said one of the goals is to make the coffee house a meeting place for people.
“We’re looking at adding some doors that would go up to bring an outdoor feel, and some of the aldermen requested putting a patio in front of the building,” he said.
Koenitz-Hudac said the coffee house will draw visitors into the community during the daytime, and people can also go after work, or after a meal at one of Highwood’s popular dining destinations until 9 or 9:30 p.m.
He added that the main goal is to have a lot of the structure and work in place to begin right away.
Koenitz-Hudac grew up in Highwood and his company is based out of Highwood. He’s a self-proclaimed history buff who serves on the board of the Highwood Historical Society. Koenitz-Hudac has done remodels on homes in Highwood including four of his own.
“Preservation Properties Group began in 2016, but it’s been in the works for about five years,” he said. “I saw an opportunity to bring homes and buildings back to life, and it’s rewarding to do this work in your own community.”
The “before” artist rendering of the Highwood Fire Station; artist rendering by Rob Hassan
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