It is deeply disheartening that the Village of Libertyville withheld a permit to revitalize the Libertyville Theater site – a missed opportunity to renew a vital part of our downtown district for residents.
The facts remain clear: our proposal meets the criteria for a Certificate of Appropriateness, as affirmed by multiple board members and several Village staff members.
The Village’s denial, which was unrelated to any of its own ordinance criteria, included an unconstitutional demand for ownership to surrender property rights in exchange for a permit approval.
Despite warnings from others about the challenges of working with Libertyville and guidance to invest in neighboring towns instead, we chose to save the theater building because several team members have deep roots in the community, attended Libertyville schools, and have fond memories of watching movies at the Liberty theater.
Unfortunately, we have come to realize those warnings were accurate and that Libertyville has earned a reputation for making new development unnecessarily difficult.
Our team worked earnestly and diligently to preserve the theater from demolition and committed millions of dollars to rehabilitate and develop the site. We continue to have working relationships and an open dialogue with neighboring businesses to ensure that this project benefits the entire downtown community.
Regrettably, we are left with no choice but to pursue legal action to protect our rights and move this essential project forward.