Share Your Voice
Shape the Design of the Highland Park Place of Remembrance
The design concepts for the Highland Park Place of Remembrance are ready for public review.
In Phase One of this process, the design team conducted a multi-tiered engagement process to consult with those most impacted by the Highland Park shooting and the broader community to share their thoughts on the design for the Highland Park Place of Remembrance. Based on that feedback, the team has developed three concepts for both the primary Place of Remembrance at the Rose Garden and the subtle, secondary site at Port Clinton Plaza.
The City of Highland Park, in partnership with SWA Group and All Together, would like to engage the community once again to ask your feedback on the design concepts.
Using this website, review the Phase One Engagement Summary and preview the Design Concepts. To give your feedback on designs, take the public survey available from Friday, May 8, to Sunday, May 24.
We recognize that engaging with this project may bring up difficult emotions. Participation is entirely voluntary. For support with the survey or any questions, connect with our team at resiliency@cityhpil.com
A Brief Process Overview
The Place of Remembrance is being designed through a phased, community-centered process. Every concept you'll see here is a direct result of what Highland Park residents, families, survivors, and first responders shared with the design team.
Phase 1: Design Ideation (February 2026 - April 2026)
Phase 2: Design Concept Review (May 2026 - June 2026)
Phase 3: Design Refinement + Construction (June 2026 - Onward)
Step One: Review the Phase 1 Engagement Summary
This report, prepared by All Together, synthesizes all community input gathered during Phase 1: Design Ideation of the Highland Park Place of Remembrance design process. This included a multi-tiered survey, individual and group listening sessions, and a community workshop, all conducted between February and April 2026
Step Two: Review the Designs for the Highland Park Place of Remembrance
Based on community feedback, the design team put together three concepts for each site of the Highland Park Place of Remembrance. Below you’ll see the three draft designs for you to view, reflect on, and through the survey, offer your feedback.
How to Look at the Concepts
As you explore each design, consider how well it captures what matters most to you. Pay attention to how each concept approaches the feedback received from Phase One of the Design Process. Don’t feel pressure to ‘pick a favorite’; rather, take note of how well each design meets the design standard and community feedback.
How to Offer Feedback
After reviewing all three concepts, we'd like to hear your reactions. Your feedback at this stage will help the design team refine and move toward a final recommendation. Take the full survey to offer feedback on how you feel about each concept.
How We Incorporated Feedback
The values, priorities, and sentiments you shared are reflected in each of the three concepts for each site. Where perspectives differed, the design team worked to honor the full range of what we heard.