Laura Olson and Matt Presser
Northwestern University’s purchase of a house in a historical district came as a surprise to Evanston City Council members and neighborhood residents Tuesday.
NU finalized the purchase of the house, located at 1945 Orrington Ave., on Tuesday, said Alan Cubbage, vice president of university relations. It will be used to house faculty and staff.
“We get people approaching us about buying property from time to time and most of the time we do not,” Cubbage said. “(But) we own everything else on that block and it is zoned for university use.”
The house is located on the southeast corner of Foster Street and Orrington Avenue, on the same block as Foster-Walker Complex, 1927 Orrington Ave.
Evanston resident Judy Fiske presented the issue to the city council during citizen comment, saying the project will have a “devastating impact” on the city’s tax revenue.
“Over the years, the university has torn down dozens of houses and removed property from the tax rolls,” Fiske said. “We pay for the loss of revenue every day.”
In 2003, the house’s previous owner paid $7,116.30 in property taxes, according to county records.
Fiske said she heard about the purchase from a neighbor and became worried that it would take away from the “residential character of the neighborhood.” Neighbors who talked with NU officials said the house is “going to be used as faculty housing for about five years and then the house will be demolished,” Fiske said. The house, built in 1954, is part of the historical district, and if NU planned to demolish it, they would be required to obtain a permit.
But Cubbage said there are no plans for that at this time.
Ald. Cheryl Wollin (1st)said she was “disappointed” that NU did not notify the city of its plans to purchase the house during the Northwestern-City Committee meeting on March 20.
“We wanted to build a sense of trust that is going to need some serious work (now),” she said.
Wollin said she found out about the purchase from the city manager’s office Tuesday afternoon. While NU is not required to disclose their plans for the “transitional campus” zoning districts near the university, the “spirit of the agreement” is to inform the city of any changes planned for the areas, she said.
“I would prefer if they were going to use it for faculty housing that they would leave it on the tax roll,” Wollin said. “They should pay taxes just like everyone else.”
Cubbage said it is unnecessary to disclose NU’s business dealings with a private community member, and it is not uncommon for the university to purchase houses for faculty use.
“It is a transaction between two private organizations,” he said. “Northwestern does not make public its land acquisitions or sales prior to their occurrence.”
Eli Wolf, who has lived next door for almost 20 years, was surprised to see a moving truck outside the house Saturday. He said his neighbors did not tell him they were planning to sell their property.
“We’ve watched the neighborhood change drastically over the years and become bought up by the university and off the tax rolls,” Wolf said. “There’s a lot of distress about this because we see the neighborhood vanishing.”
The property was listed as owned by Frank Young. Young could not be reached for comment at the house and did not pick up his phone Wednesday afternoon.
This is not the first time an NU real-estate transaction has alarmed residents and city officials. In November 2004, the university bought an eight-story office building at 1800 Sherman Ave., taking it off the tax rolls. At the time, NU agreed to donate $2.1 million to Evanston and local school districts over three years.
Cubbage said this is a different situation involving a smaller piece of property and no donation will be made.
Reach Laura Olson at [email protected] and Matt Presser at [email protected].
