Parking at the Sherman Avenue garage is safe for a few months more .
The ground-breaking date for the long-anticipated Sherman Plaza, which will replace the garage, has been pushed back again due to financial delays. This is the latest of several delays that have plagued the construction of the plaza.
Developer Thomas J. Klutznick Co. and city officials said they expect demolition to begin in the spring. When the city approved construction plans in October, after more than a year of drafting, the garage was slated to close Dec. 31.
Because different groups are managing the residential, commercial and parking aspects of the project, securing financing is taking longer than previously anticipated, Assistant City Manager Judith Aiello said. She said once construction has begun, the $100 million project will take approximately 24 to 36 months to complete.
Plans for Sherman Plaza include a 27-story condominium tower with 175 to 200 residential units, an athletic club, a four-story retail base and a 12-story parking garage. The development will take up most of the city block bordered by Benson and Sherman avenues and Clark and Davis streets.
Aiello said developers should work out any financial bugs in the next 30 to 45 days.
“We’re waiting for them to put together their financial package,” Aiello said.
Subsequent construction “will depend on how long it will take to put together their documentation,” she added.
According to City Manager Roger Crum, there will be a 60-day maximum before paperwork is completed and land transfer can start.
Aiello said she hopes the demolition of the garage will start in April.
Once financing has been pinned down, the garage’s demolition will take 12 to 14 months, said Jean Baucom, the city parking manager.
Osco Drug, 1630 Sherman Ave., is also slated to be demolished, though it is last on the list. The drugstore will move half a block north. First Bank & Trust of Evanston, 820 Church St., is the only building on the block going untouched.
When the Sherman garage does close, people who still hold monthly parking permits will be relocated to three places: the garage on Church Street east of Chicago Avenue; 1800 Maple Ave.; and the lower level of the Best Western, 1501 Sherman Ave.
Baucom said that people in transit, such as shoppers who only need to park for a few hours, will still be able to find parking spaces on the street or in other downtown facilities, although competition for those spaces will be increased.
Baucom said Evanston workers would be more heavily affected by the destruction of the garage. They currently make up the vast majority of parkers at Sherman garage, which has 657 spaces, she said.
“Most (workers) would like to park as close to work as possible,” Baucom said.
A new parking garage in Sherman Plaza will eventually alleviate parking woes — once construction is completed.
Baucom said the garage will have about 1,600 total spaces — about 200 for condominium residents and 1,400 for the city.
