When the Downtown Plan passed the City Council on Monday, it opened a window for tall buildings in downtown Evanston.
Even so, the future of the proposed Fountain Square tower, 708 Church St., remains unclear.
“I don’t think anybody knows. Does anybody know when this is going to stop?” said tower architect Larry Booth, of Booth Hansen Architecture.
Developers from Klutznick-Fisher Development Company and Focus Development proposed the skyscraper, originally planned for 49 stories, in 2007. The plan later shrunk to 38 stories.
Representatives from Klutznick-Fisher and Focus Development were unavailable for comment.
The newly approved Downtown Plan sets a base height limit of 25 stories, with 35 stories available to developers who meet certain public benefit standards, such as having an entirely green building.
Both the tower and the Downtown Plan have been contentious for Evanston residents. At various public forums and committee meetings, many residents have expressed their disapproval for tall buildings in downtown Evanston.
At one point the City Council was ready to deny the developers permission to begin the project. Last May, Evanston aldermen voted to postpone a vote on the proposed tower until after the Plan Commission delivered a new Downtown Plan to the council. Developers and city officials have been waiting for the final plan to pass before discussing the tower again.
“They weren’t going to decide anything until they got the Downtown Plan passed,” Booth said. “It was treated separately from the beginning.”
Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd) said the Planning and Development Committee has not discussed moving forward with the project.
“It’s tabled,” he said.
Ald. Edmund B. Moran, Jr. (6th), who is the chairman of the committee, could not be reached for comment.
Regardless of the actions of the council, the current economic crisis could also affect the future of the project.
Stuart Opdycke, vice chairman of the Plan Commission and mayoral candidate, recently remarked that regardless of the plan, no one was going to build in Evanston with the economy so shaky.
With all of these factors still to be decided, the only thing certain about the tower is uncertainty.
“Everything’s up in the air,” Booth said.
