Despite an outcry from worried residents, developer Thomas Roszak will attempt to convince the Evanston Plan Commission tonight that his proposed, six-building condominium complex fits into the historic Evanston skyline.
Roszak said he will use Wednesday’s meeting to address the concerns of the residents, living near the proposed site at 1100 Clark St., who already have voiced concerns about the possible impact of the development on traffic and buildings in the area.
Roszak declined to comment further about residents’ concerns.
“(Roszak) has not talked to neighbors — he has talked at us,” said Sue Walton of 1111 Church St.
Walton, who has lived in her eight-story condominium building for 26 years, said she objects to the height of the planned development, which ranges among the six buildings from six to 20 stories.
“We are a neighborhood,” said Sue Walton of 1111 Church. “We are not downtown. If Mr. Roszak is allowed to develop this area with a high-rise, forget it.”
She added that she isn’t against developing the property, which is currently a parking lot.
“It does need to be developed, but it doesn’t need to be developed that high,” she said.
Walton said she and other neighbors of the proposed project are worried about traffic, alley use and parking, among other things. They are also concerned about the long construction time that Roszak proposed.
“Taking five years — hey, there might be no market for Roszak’s condominiums,” Walton said.
Walton said she will attend tonight’s meeting with seven or eight neighbors to air concerns about the Clark Street project, a 348-unit complex to be called Sierra. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.
The Plan Commission will give a recommendation, which would be taken to Evanston City Council for approval, barring no zoning concerns. If passed, construction could begin as early as June.
The developer also is involved in a lawsuit brought by an Evanston resident who alleges that her home was damaged during the construction of Chicago Avenue Place, a Roszak/ADC condominium complex on the 1200 block of Chicago Avenue.
“Our house was shaking from the demolition,” said the complainant, Joyce Elias of 1210 Sherman Ave.
Elias, who previously lived in California, compared the disruption to an earthquake that began in the morning and continued until the demolition workers went home.
The shaking caused a beam to break, Elias said. Now she uses a post to prop up the damaged beam in her basement, which she claims broke during the first phase of construction. She also said the plaster walls of the house, which was built in 1888, have continually cracked since construction began in 2000.
“Now, all the walls are cracked,” Elias said.
Roszak declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Other neighbors of the project on Chicago faced damages, Elias said, but they did not join the lawsuit.
Despite the pending lawsuit, Roszak will continue with the Sierra project.
Walton said she would watch for possible structural damage if construction on the Sierra project begins.
“We will definitely take pictures prior to any construction,” she said.
