Before this dance is through...

So a teen dance club at eSkape is a reality. Finally.

It has been months -- literally -- of discussion, negotiation, approval, unapproval, and reapproval.

But now it's a reality.

People have asked me how I felt about it. Quite honestly, I was and still am, on the fencepost about it.

There are some very good arguments for it and some very good arguments against it. eSkape has been a solid anchor in Town Center, no doubt, so Bill (name) obviously knows his family entertainment business.

Teen dance clubs raise the bar (sorry, bad pun) which will be watched like no other business in the village (except maybe for the one that advertises escorts...but that's a different story).

Some of the arguments by people who spoke to the board are valid. Others are not.

For example, Highland Park resident Margie Nyberg is so concerned about teens in Buffalo Grove that she trekked to Monday's Board meeting to say what the kids need.

Interestingly enough, Nyberg did not cite the long-time efforts of the City of Highland Park's Youth Commission to provide services and programming for teens in that city, an effort that has been on going for more than 30 years. I am not sure why the connection between Highland Park and Northbrook Court was brought up -- but Highland Park never had the chance to "buy" Northbrook Court -- they had the chance to annex the site, but chose not to do so (anyone remember what was there before Northbrook Court??).

Someone else foresaw the future and figured the teen dance club would bring in new businesses -- like an ice cream shop. Seems to me the last one that was there wasn't such a success.

I don't think Bay Shul will gain a lot from eSkape -- unless eSkape offers a minyan special.

The statement that was most surprising -- at least from a resident -- was that a teen dance club was needed because of the "population explosion" in the village.

Not quite. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Projections by the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) project a growth from 2000 to 2030 in Lake County of 24 percent. Most of that, however, will be in the areas further north and northwest. Cities 50 miles, and even a bit further, are showing the most growth. Huntley, for example, is projected to grow by more than 38,000 people in that time.

What's ahead for Big Animal Grove is not encouraging if you're into people. Dr. John Kasarda, a North Carolina-based demographer has worked with District 125 (Stevenson High School) on enrollment projections. According to district officials, enrollment hit its high 2005-06 at 4,573. This year it has dropped to 4,345.

No big deal.

However, according to Dr. Kasarda's projections, by 2019-20 school year -- nine years from now -- the enrollment at Stevenson will be 3,741 -- a drop of 600 students. From the high point in 2005-06, that's a drop of about 18 percent, representing 832 students. These projections, district officials say, are based on estimated enrollment for the primary schools.

Which means the village is aging.

So instead of "The Glow" -- maybe in a few years eSkape will call the club "The Gums" and make it a dance club for aging, retired boomers.

AARP discount anyone?