Evanston can expect to see the completion of 437 units of new rental housing in planned developments in 2020 — the highest number in several years.
But the prospects after that start to look pretty hazy.
Here’s a rundown of residential planned developments completed over the last four years, along with ones now under construction, approved or in the review process.
2016 — 291 units
- The eight-story Hyatt House at 1515 Chicago Ave., with 114 extended-stay hotel rooms, opened in May.
- The Main, a nine-story mixed-use building at 847 Chicago Ave. with 112 rental apartments, opened in October.
- An eight-story addition to The Merion, with 65 rental apartments for seniors, was completed late in the year.
2017 — 156 units
- Centrum Evanston, a 12-story, 101-unit rental apartment building at 1571 Maple Ave., was completed by year end.
- 1620 Central a 47-unit rental building at that address on Central Street, was completed in the fall.
- The final eight units in the Church Street Village condominium development were completed in 2017.
2018 — 44 units
- 828 Lofts, a four-story, 44-unit rental building at 824-828 Noyes St., was completed in the fall.
2019 — 242 units
- The Link, at 811 Emerson St., is a nine-story, 242-unit rental apartment development approved by the City Council in June 2017. After some construction delays, it was occupied this fall.
2020 — 437 units
- The Albion, at 1500 Sherman Ave., is a 15-story, 268-unit rental apartment development approved by the City Council in November 2017. Originally planned to be finished late this year, it’s only now nearing completion and is expected to be done by February 2020.
- 1727 Oak Ave., a 17-story, 169-unit Avidor Evanston rental development for active seniors, approved by the City Council in May 2018, has been topped out and appears likely to be completed sometime next spring..
2021 — 527 units
There could be a lot of new construction completed in 2021, but some of the listed projects have failed to move forward for a long time and others may never win approval.
Three approved projects could be completed in 2021, if they can get out of the ground.
- 1815 Ridge Ave., a 163-unit development with independent and assisted living units for seniors, was approved by the City Council in July 2016, but has yet to break ground.
- City Grange, at 128-130 Chicago Ave., a 26-unit rental and retail development, was approved by the City Counil in May 2018, but has yet to break ground.
- Evanston Commons, 910-938 Custer Ave., a 40-unit, for-sale townhouse development, was approved by the City Council last March, but it appears to be in limbo after the death of one of its developers.
Two more have yet to win approval:
- The Legacy, 1621 Chicago Ave., the owners of The Merion, located just to the south of this site, have submitted a planned development request for a 19-story, 240-unit active adult development to replace one-story commercial uses on the site. The city’s Design and Project Review Committee has voted to recommend denial of the project, and the plans have not yet been scheduled for a hearing before the Plan Commission.
- 999 Howard, a 60-unit proposed subsidized senior housing development from Evergreen Real Estate Group and the Council for Jewish Elderly, would replace the long-vacant former Dairy Queen on Howard Street and a parking lot for CJE vans. It’s scheduled for introduction at the Jan. 13 meeting of the City Council’s Planning and Development Committee.
2022 — 371 units
So far only one planned development proposal has been submitted that — if it wins approval — would be likely to be completed in 2022.
- That’s a five-story, 68-unit rental development at 1555 Ridge Ave., which would replace a surface parking lot. It has yet to be scheduled for the first formal stage of the city’s planned development review process — a session with the Design and Project Review Committee.
Three other proposals are at the very earliest stage of the process — with developers having requested a zoning analysis from the city of their preliminary plans.
- A 15-story addition to the Housing Authority of Cook County’s Perlman Apartments at 1900 Sherman Ave. that would have 121 mixed-income apartments.
- A five-story mixed-use building with 99 dwelling units at 718-732 Main St., space now occupied by Vogue Fabrics.
- A three-story addition to Three Crowns Park at 2300 Pioneer Road that would add 85 independent living units to the retirement community.
Some projects for which a zoning analysis is requested never move beyond that to the planned development review stage, and some planned developments end up being rejected by the City Council.
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