When Evanston resident Jodie Reeser moved into her new home on the 2100 block of Keeney Street six months ago, she discovered her alley was a “disaster.”
But help is on the way.
Using funds from the city, local residents, and Home Depot, 2201 Oakton St.. a dozen alleyways in a southern quadrant of Evanston just east of the store will be paved for the first time by the end of fall, said Ald. Gene Feldman (9th).
“This area for the most part has unpaved alleys, and one of the causes of complaints and concern was the condition of those alleys,” he said.
At last week’s Evanston City Council meeting, aldermen approved nearly $1 million to pave alleys in the neighborhood — bounded by Dodge and Hartrey avenues and Oakton and Main streets in the Ninth Ward. The city footed half the bill, Home Depot contributed $300,000 to $400,000, and area residents will pay for the rest.
Home Depot’s contribution is left over from a deal between corporate and city officials when the store first opened its Evanston location in 1994. As a financial incentive, the city gave the hardware giant a small rebate on their sales tax — but a certain portion of that, about $800,000, Feldman said, went to the community for infrastructure such as parks, sidewalks and lighting.
Corporate officials for Home Depot could not be reached for comment.
Residents can petition the city to pave their alleyways — but usually the city and homeowners split the cost. Feldman said it normally costs citizens $400 to $500 per year for eight years to repave an alley. But with the store’s funds the price for residents could drop to less than $100.
“The combination of that and the 50 percent that the city ordinarily put in would reduce the cost of the alleys to the citizens so much… we would make them an offer they could hardly refuse,” Feldman said.
He called the condition of Evanston’s alleys a “big problem.” Having these alleys paved would ease pressure on the city’s coffers by reducing money spent on maintenance for the gravel.
“From the city’s point of view, it’s a terrible way to spend money, fixing alleys like that,” he said. “But getting these 12 alleys was marvelous for the city and eventually it saved us a lot of money.”
Reeser said although she isn’t thrilled about the financial commitment, she is happy to have the alley paved.
“Since Home Depot generates a lot of traffic and backup, it’s kind of them to give back to the community,” she said. “I shudder to think how expensive it would be if they weren’t chipping in.”
Reach Mike Cherney at [email protected].
