Condominium developers try all sorts of incentives to get buyers in early. Stephen Yas is no exception.
“Probably the first one who buys gets the crane,” said Yas, president of YAS Architecture, LLC.
Someone’s living room will include an industrial crane, a holdover from the building’s factory days, at the proposed condominium development at 2100 Greenwood St.
The Evanston Planning and Development Committee will discuss the proposed condominium development Jan. 23. The Evanston Plan Commission recommended it unanimously, citing the developer’s innovative plans and community involvement.
When asked about pros and cons of the development, commission member David Galloway said, “Only pros.”
The plans involve turning the existing 50-year-old, 3-year-vacant factory on the site into 26 live-work loft condominiums. Yas said if all goes well with the Evanston City Council, they hope to open sales by Feb. 1, with the average one-bedroom condominium selling for about $300,000.
Residents in the area said they have seen plans for the property come and go, including a skate park many of them fought against. Although community groups support the development, some remain skeptical after previous failures.
“I keep telling (Yas) it ain’t going to work but he keeps saying it is,” said Thomas Simpson who lives across the street from the property. “But I’m behind him.”
Construction could start by the end of April and could take about six months. Development would require rezoning the property from an I2 General Industrial Zoning District to a MU Transitional Manufacturing District.
Yas estimated the project would contribute $5 million to the West Evanston Tax Increment Financing district during the next 23 years, and the single-occupancy units would not add students to the school district.
The creation of the TIF district freezes the property value until 2008, allowing any additional tax revenue to be redirected to development within the district.
They also will employ five to ten Evanston residents to help with demolition and will use local supplies in construction.
“Frankly, there are a lot of unemployed people in this neighborhood,” Yas said. “The idea is to give them some skills and job experience.”
Besides helping the neighborhood, the project also aims to be environmentally friendly. A courtyard and strong insulation would reduce energy needs, Yas said. He said overnight cold air would collect in the courtyard and then rise, cooling the units when the sun hits it in the morning.
The building is oriented to let sunlight in during the winter and to create a cross-breeze in the summer.
In a tour of the building in November, Yas walked about the cavernous space, steps echoing as he pointed out where they would remove the roof to form a courtyard, smiling as he envisioned a sculpture garden.
Yas said he and co-developer Lon Porter hope the units attract some artists, who could display their work in the courtyard. Cranes that once lifted steel from flatbeds in the warehouse, in a way reminiscent of crane games at arcades, could move sculptures from their creators’ doors to the garden.
Incorporation of existing features and the use of recycled materials is another environmentally friendly goal of the development. Yas said he wants the project to serve as a model of green, community-friendly development.
“Every project that’s done in town should contribute to the community,” he said. “Lon found this building and said, ‘What do you think we could do with it?'”
Reach Elizabeth Gibson at [email protected].
