Evanston developer Andy Spatz showed plans for a three-unit office development on Hartrey Avenue to residents at a 2nd Ward meeting Thursday evening.
The two-story building is planned for a site at 1310 Hartrey Ave. just north of the Aquajet Car Wash on the corner of Hartrey Avenue and Dempster Street.
The site, zoned C2 commercial, has been a vacant lot for at least a decade, but formerly was occupied by a one-story medical office building.
It had been the office of Dr. Warren F. Spencer, a life-long Evanston resident and civil rights activist until his death at age 66 in 1987.
Spatz says the new building will have two units of about 1,500 square feet on either end, with an 1,100 square foot unit in the middle.
Each unit will have open office space plus a kitchen area and bath on the ground level, with additional private office space on the second level.
He said the plans call for R100 insulation in the roof and R60 insulation in the walls. “The project is super-insulated,” Spatz said. “It functions like a beer cooler, and will have very little energy use.”
He said the design will provide a lot of sound insulation from traffic on Dempster Street and the exterior finish will be a combination stucco and standing seam metal, that’s become a standard for other projects he’s done in the city.
The site will have four parking spaces off the alley. Spatz says he’s is requesting two minor setback variations from the city for some of the protruding elements of the design.
No residents offered commented on the project at the meeting. Alderman Peter Braithwaite said nearby residents would receive postcards from the city alerting them to the upcoming meetings at which the plans will be reviewed.