Residents near the former Kendall College want one thing — a clear answer on the development plans near their home.
“I’m just so confused,” said Judy Fiske, a First Ward aldermanic candidate, who lives near the Kendall property. “For a year I’ve been coming to these planning and development meetings. I want this to move forward.”
The Evanston Preservation Commission decided unanimously on Wednesday to delay voting on a developer’s construction application until Feb. 15. The Preservation Commission said the developer’s proposal to build 16 separate single family homes and 36 town houses was vague and did not meet some city standards. The commission’s recommendations are only advisory.
This puts the Chicago developing group, Smithfield Properties Inc., back to the drawing board. Smithfield attorney Bernard Citron said the company needs the construction application to be approved to finish final designs of all the homes. Citron said the designs could change even after development begins depending on client demands.
Residents at the meeting were confused about the construction application because the commission had decided unanimously not to recommend the planning and administration application for Smithfield on Jan. 18.
The commission said there are three separate applications for the process. Even if one part is rejected, the others still can be discussed, said Carlos Ruiz, preservation commission member.
The third part of the application considers demolition of Wesley Hall, the college’s former administration building.
Neighbors near Kendall and several preservation members said they want to make sure the new homes resemble Evanston architecture.
“We can’t vote on construction purely on options,” said Tom Gemmell, co-chairman of the Kendall task force. “We need to know exactly what (Smithfield is) building.”
Gemmell, along with other residents, pressed for more information and asked for models to be brought to the next meeting.
Preservation Chairman Christopher Casey said the buildings are too tall and a lack of “rhythmic spacing” between the home and the street conflict with city building ordinances.
Smithfield’s designs are not consistent with the rest of the neighborhood, Gemmell said.
“I don’t want it to look like someone took a Monopoly set and put it on that property,” said Emily Guthrie, preservation committee member. “If you think you can come and blow right through us, you’re wrong,”
The 3.5-acre property, bought by Smithfield for $9 million, is in the Northeast Evanston Historic District, and a number of the buildings are considered to contribute to the district’s historical value.
Guthrie said Smithfield should start thinking about zoning the property only to allow single-family homes and prohibit the 16 town houses.
In 2003 Kendall College sold its property, located between Lincoln and Colfax streets and Sherman and Orrington avenues northwest of Northwestern’s Evanston Campus, to Smithfield.
The property currently is zoned for university use, so the Evanston City Council must re-zone the land before Smithfield can begin building.
The next preservation commission meeting will be Feb. 15 at the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.
Reach Stephanie Chen at [email protected].
