There’ll be fewer construction cranes on downtown Evanston’s skyline in coming months than it appeared there might be just a few months ago.
Two projects unveiled last fall seem to have stalled, and a third was rejected last month by the City Council.
[gmap |id=map1 |center=42.049388241412856, -87.68158435821533 |zoom=15 |width=480px |height=300px |control=Small |type=Map |markers=42.0518419954737,-87.68514633178711:1890 Maple Ave., proposed hotel site. + 42.046679441795206,-87.68016815185547:605 Davis St., proposed high-rise condo site + 42.04562775905265,-87.6793098449707: 1515 Chicago Ave., rejected high-rise plan]
City Planning Division Director Dennis Marino said at last month’s Downtown Plan meeting that he’s heard nothing recently from representatives of the John Buck Company about their plans, announced last Otober, for a 20-story condominium project on a narrow vacant lot at 605 Davis St.
The building would have shared the parking ramp of Buck’s Park Evanston rental high-rise around the corner at 1630 Chicago Ave.
Because of the small size of the lot, the developer needed agreements with property owners on both sides to meet building code requirements for having windows on the east and west facades.
The developer had partnered with the owner of the landmarked University Building to the east on the corner of Davis and Chicago to resolve half that problem, but when the plans were announced had not yet reached an agreement with the owners of the bank drive-through to the west of the site.
“When bank mergers occur sometimes it takes 18 months or more before the new owners catch up with their assets,” Mr. Marino said, so with the recent transition of the bank from Bank One to Chase, that could be what is still delaying the project.
Atira Hotels of Chicago told city planners last September that they hoped to build a 10-story Residence Inn extended-stay hotel on the site of the now-vacant three-story office building at 1890 Maple Ave.
Mr. Marino said there was extensive activity planning for that project for a few months, but it has dramatically slowed down, although he said he’d received an e-mail from the lead investor recently indicating that they were still very much interested in the project.
It’s not known at this point what will happen next with the Optima Promenade site at 1515 Chicago Ave. where the City Council last month turned down plans to build an 18-story mixed-use retail, office and residential condominium development to replace low-rise commercial buildings.
But, as construction wraps up this fall on Sherman Plaza, it may begin on two downtown projects.
Developers of the Winthrop Club, a high-rise condo project at 1567 Maple approved by City Council last October, have opened a sales office in the Evanston Galleria building on Benson Avenue, and Robert King is moving ahead with his plans for the 18-story Carroll Place condo development at 1881 Oak after receiving City Council approval last month.