Developers for the proposed Sherman Plaza project will present their plans on May 16 for a retail shopping center and parking garage before a joint session of the Evanston City Council, the Planning and Development Committee and the Economic Development Committee.
The plaza is a $110 million development, which upon initial proposal included a Sears department store, 135,000 square feet of specialty retail space, a senior luxury apartment building and a parking garage.
The two-year-old project is gaining momentum after being stalled for about six months by local property owners who resisted selling to the developer. Stuart Handler, the last hold-out, agreed to a deal with the city for a sale two weeks ago; the parties were given until mid-July to settle the sale. Owners of Olive Mountain restaurant, 814 Church St., started a letter-writing campaign last fall in response to the city’s efforts to condemn the property but decided to sell for $1 million in February.
Although all of the land has been acquired, city officials said the purchases came at a greater cost to the developer than originally anticipated. Sear Roebuck & Corp. has said that if the developers need to renegotiate their contract at greater expense, the retailer likely will back out of the project. Developers will present any changes to the initial proposal at the special council meeting.
In the past two weeks, developers for the project have been working to create a presentation for the city. James Klutznick of Thomas J. Klutznick Corp. has said that while the project has required a lot of attention since its inception, these weeks leading up to the presentation have been particularly intense.
City Manager Roger Crum said Klutznick will present designs for the plaza, which will cover most of the block west of Sherman Avenue between Church and Davis streets.
The city became closely involved with the development because the developer also will build a new parking garage on the site of the current Sherman Garage, footing a possible $20 million bill for the city and Evanston taxpayers.
