After more than three hours of debate, Evanston’s aldermen sent a proposed development by Mather LifeWays back to committee again Tuesday night at a special Planning and Development Committee meeting.
The retirement community will stand at the intersection of Hinman Avenue and Davis Street and will include 245 independent living residences, 24 assisted living units and 40 longterm care units. The development will also provide underground parking for 249 vehicles.
Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd) said he would like to see the buildings moved around slightly, and possibly reduced in size, to create more green space.
The proposed development would be too large to be “right there up close to the street,” Ald. Steven Bernstein (4th) said.
“I would like to see the building pushed back from Davis Street,” Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) said.
That sentiment was not unanimous. Ald. Edmund Moran (6th) said the committee should vote on the proposal as it was presented to the committee.
“I think it is a serious mistake to try and redesign this project,” he said.
Construction of the new development would demolish The Georgian, a former hotel that is now about a century old. Evanston residents have protested in the past to have The Georgian marked a historic landmark but were unsuccessful.
“It’s a charming old building, but it’s terribly out of date,” said 83-year-old Evanston resident Bruce Kaiser. Kaiser retired in 1995 when he was the executive director of the Norris University Center. “I definitely wouldn’t want to live there because the space is very small. All of the facilities are old.”
Martin Stern, a financial consultant to the city council for about six years, analyzed the effects of eliminating one floor of the development. He said removing one or two units wouldn’t make or break the project. When a floor, about 30 units, is removed the project becomes financially unviable, he said.
Reducing the size of each unit would also not help the financial success of the development, Stern said. Unlike a regular condominium project, Mather cannot add other amenities to small units to maintain high prices.
“One of the amenities people want most is space,” Stern said.
Ross-boy Link, an opponent of the development, said the shortterm nature of Mather’s financial analysis makes it seem harder for the project to succeed because it does not include longterm profits.
The issue has been debated in at least eight Plan Commission meetings and several Planning and Development committee meetings, in addition to meetings of the Preservation Commission about the fate of The Georgian.
Reach Lensay Abadula at [email protected].
