The Evanston Plan Commission voted against a proposed condominium project Wednesday, even after the developer presented a scaled-down proposal to build an 18-story tower at 1881 Oak Ave.
The current plan for Carroll Place calls for 165 units, down from 175 units in a previous plan. The commission praised Bob King, president of Carroll Properties, and architects for the revisions made but found that the proposed development was still too tall and incongruous with the context of the surrounding buildings.
“In another 50 years, we might approve it,” said Albert Hunter, chairman of the Plan Commission. “But I don’t think we want to wait that long.” He suggested that the developers continue to work with the commission to build something more appropriate.
King said the developers value constructive criticism and have taken comments seriously into consideration in the past. King first presented a proposal for Carroll Place in May 2005 and has redesigned it twice since then.
“It’s … impossible to design a building by consensus,” King said. “But we’ve certainly bent over backwards to do just that.”
Hoping to make the building look smaller from the pedestrian’s point of view, architects proposed a Z-shaped building that also would increase the number of corner units and windows in the design. Commissioners praised these improvements, but said they felt reductions were not drastic enough.
“It’s like putting an elephant in a Volkswagen,” said Alvin Paden, an Evanston resident speaking against the proposal during citizen comment.
But representatives of Carroll Properties said the area around the site is in need of revitalization and shouldn’t be regarded as a standard.
“Every neighborhood is a transitional neighborhood at one point in time,” said Patrick FitzGerald, an architect for Carroll Place. “I think you need to look at this in terms of what it could be in the future, not what it has been in the past.”
The commission also heard presentations by opponents of Optima Esplanade’s proposal for 1515 Chicago Ave. Their plan to build 175 residential units in an 18-story condominium building, Optima Promenade, has been heavily resisted by neighbors fearing diminishing property values.
Richard Willis, owner of the The Chaumont, 531 Grove St., said Wednesday that Optima would build walls too close to his property. He said homes with windows facing a solid wall only five feet away would become undesirable and demanded “more breathing space.”
But Stuart Opdycke, a Plan Commission member, noted that the proposed site is underutilized and that anything developed there, Optima or not, would likely have the same result.
Other residents said Optima’s design, which puts the parking entrance on the alley between Grove and Davis streets, would have disastrous effects on traffic. Because delivery vehicles are already blocking the alley, they said, the additional trips by condominium residents would make the area even more congested.
John Murphey, a lawyer representing the developers, said the parked vehicles were there illegally. He also said the site’s proximity to public transportation was a main reason Optima chose to build there.
The Plan Commission will hear final statements by both parties for the Optima proposal May 31.
Reach Jenny Song at [email protected].
