Rising 17 stories above the southwest corner of Church Street and Maple Avenue, the Church Street Station condominium building marks another success in the high-price housing boom in downtown Evanston.

The rapid sale of this site and other units in the area, which are priced from about $200,000 to $900,000, stems largely from economic growth that has fostered a “renaissance” of new business in Evanston, said Tim Anderson, president of Focus Development, which is developing Church Street Station.

Developers are aggressively marketing the luxurious, 105-unit Church Street Station, as well as a 205-unit Optima Views building under construction at 1720 Maple Ave., across the street and just south of the Maple Street Garage.

Both sites are filling fast. Church Street Station has sold about 80 percent of its units and Optima Views, which is still building near ground level, has sold about 65 percent, developers said.

The Optima Views building, when completed by March 2003, will tower higher than any residential building in Evanston. The 28-story complex will be the tallest residential building in any of the Chicago-area suburbs.

The building surge also includes the Sherman Plaza, a shopping and residential development on Sherman Avenue between Church and Davis streets that will start going up in early summer.

Growth west of historical downtown Evanston has helped the new buildings, said Todd Desmarais, vice president of Optima Inc., which is creating the Optima Views development. “What’s been built is an entirely new community,” he said.

Optima Views is the residential component of Church Street Plaza, which houses Century Theatres, Wolfgang Puck’s Grand Cafe and Cost Plus World Market.

Evanston promoted this area by creating a tax increment finance district that includes Church Street Plaza. The district, which expires in 2008, marks areas for development and caps the amount of tax revenue received by the area. Extra money is reinvested back into the area to promote further development.

Such an incentive promotes development, creating strong and healthy competition, Desmarais said.

“The different developments build off of one another,” he said. “People realize that’s the place to be.”

Condominium sales are rising in the Chicago area, according to statistics from the Illinois Association of Realtors. The area saw a 6 percent increase for March 2002 compared with March 2001.

The Church Street Station will open for some occupants this summer and for the rest by this winter, Anderson said.

Focus began selling the sites in early 2001 and has seen increased business this spring, said Mette Bowen, sales manager for Focus. The units, which range from one to three bedrooms, are mostly priced between $190,000 and $420,000. The building also includes penthouses priced at $700,000 to $930,000.

The units at Optima Views will have a diverse price range as well, Desmarais said. They will range from the low $200,000s to $650,000.

Anderson said he does not expect the units’ high cost to harm their sales, but said buyers will find high-quality units at a price lower than what is available in Chicago.

“As long as Evanston has some life to it, people will want to live here,” Anderson said.

According to a report by the Illinois Association of Realtors, the average price of condominiums in the Chicago area in 2001 is $225,000, a figure near the bottom of the price range for the two Evanston locations.

The strong response to the construction reflects a longtime shortage, Desmarais said.

“What’s being built now supplies a demand that was already there,” he said.