Update given on Guidepost Montessori project in Edison Park; Chick-fil-A no longer planned for Higgins

UPDATE: A resident who inquired about the planned Guidepost Montessori school was sent an e-mail in December from the company stating that the Edison Park location would not be opening and encouraged that other Guideposts locations be considered for enrollment.

by BRIAN NADIG

In area development news, concerns have been raised over whether the planned Guidepost Montessori school at 6701 N. Northwest Hwy. will be opening given that many other locations in the country reportedly are closing, while a plan to build a Chick-fil-A at 8151-8221 W. Higgins Ave. will not be not moving forward.

A link to enroll at the Edison Park Guidepost school was working last year but now the word “oops” pops up, with the message: “We can’t seem to find the page you’re looking for.”

In a news report on the planned closing of a Guidepost school in Wisconsin, TMJ4 News reported, “In a letter to parents, school leaders cited the organization’s continued enrollment and financial obstacles as reasons for the closure” and that resources would be redirected to other schools that are believed to have longterm sustainability.

A representative for the project this week told the 41st Ward aldermanic office that plans for the school are moving forward, according to Alderman Anthony Napolitano’s chief of staff Chris Vittorio. The school’s planned opening was announced a while ago as September of 2025, and the interior buildout reportedly is done, he said.

Vittorio said that the ward office is aware of Guidepost’s recent closings and will continue to monitor the situation. Signage for the school already has been installed on the building.

No parking/loading zones were installed on Northwest Highway and on Oliphant Avenue to accommodate the school, and those signs would be removed if the school were not to open — in order to allow for more parking for other businesses, he said.

The first floor of the building had been home to several restaurants, including The Curragh, but they closed in 2023 to make way for the Montessori school.

The 17,765-square-foot building includes a second-floor office and apartments.

When plans for the school were announced, some residents said that a school would not be the best fit for the heart of the Edison Park business district.

The corporate office for Guidepost could not be reached for comment via telephone and e-mail, which could not be received due to the recipient’s mailbox being “full,” a return message said.

Meanwhile, plans to build a Chick-fil-A in the O’Hare commercial corridor apparently were dropped after the state told the property owner that it wanted the roadway on Higgins to be widened to accommodate turn lanes in front of the site, he said. The state was seeking the south side of the roadway to be widened due to the anticipated traffic generated from the planned drive-through facility, he said.

The Zoning Board of Appeals in 2023 approved a special use for the drive-through.

Friedman Properties is now exploring other options for the approximately 3-acre site, Vittorio said. The property’s B3-1 zoning allows for a variety of restaurant, retail and office uses.

The parcel is located between the Hooters restaurant at 8225 W. Higgins Ave. and the Springhill Suites by Marriott at 8101 W. Higgins Ave. The property also runs just to the north of the outbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway.

At one time the site was targeted for a 994-room hotel and convention complex, but the project never materialized after Chinese investors reportedly were defrauded by a former developer of the site.

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