Fourth Ward residents expressed concerns about the future of the Evanston Police/Fire Headquarters located at 1454 Elmwood Ave./909 Lake St. and posed questions to Putting Assets to Work team members about how potential decisions could affect the neighborhood during a virtual meeting Tuesday night.

Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th) invited 4th Ward residents to discuss their ideas on a potential renovation or relocation of the building, among other possibilities. PAW is a national project using federal money to redevelop city properties, and the Evanston program — awarded a $985,000 federal grant in 2024 — is looking to potentially revamp the headquarters, as well as the former Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center and the Noyes Cultural Arts Center.

After sharing a brief slideshow detailing the program and its efforts with attendees, PAW team consultants Ryan Porter of the MPACT Collective and Michael McLean of Sentient Co. opened the floor to residents. As many live close to the headquarters, the discussion featured a wide range of insights and worries.

Some residents expressed concerns about the possibility of the headquarters being moved and replaced with a high-rise building.

4th Ward resident Nick Patera, who said he lives at 1580 Elmwood Ave. next to the headquarters, said a high-rise could introduce sunlight and fresh air blockages for those living in nearby buildings. He cited similar effects from the construction of the Albion Evanston building, claiming that residents “can’t see sunrises anymore” due to the high-rise.

“The biggest concern has to do with redevelopment,” Patera said. “If they put another Albion building in there, we’re screwed, simple terms.”

Like Patera, 4th Ward resident Donald Ziegler, who said he has lived in the neighborhood for decades, disliked the idea of a high-rise building in the headquarters’ place. He added that the police made “wonderful neighbors.” 

Ziegler said although he understands the city may be looking to generate income from the property, he stressed the importance of preserving the area.

“I would hope that if there’s any development that it’ll be definitely low-rise, single-family on both sides of Lake (Street) and in the police parking lot to retain the character of our neighborhood,” Ziegler said. “The last thing we would like is a high-rise on that property.”

The consultants repeatedly explained that although they still have not come to conclusions on recommendations, they would take notes on what residents said and use their input to drive the effort forward. 

McLean said residents would have several additional chances to voice their concerns to other bodies including City Council.

“I want to make sure that everybody realizes that our recommendations — and Ryan said this, but I want to reiterate it — do not supersede the regular land use procedures in the City of Evanston,” McLean said.

4th Ward resident Susan Bangs Munro said she hopes the consultants also consider other issues in the area, including what she called a “deterioration in the neighborhood” caused by empty properties.

“I’m hoping that in this process you’re looking at the whole neighborhood and properties at the corner of Maple (Avenue) and Grove (Street), very close to the police/fire station,” she said. “Because we need planning for that whole neighborhood up to Oak (Avenue) and Grove.”

Echoing residents who said they appreciate the headquarters being in the neighborhood, 4th Ward resident Steve Lewis, who said he lives a block away from the station, said he thinks the station is a crucial crime deterrent for the area.

“If EPD can stay in our neighborhood, I have a feeling that me and my neighbors who are listening right now, would agree to that,” Lewis said. “We love living near the police department.”

As the initiative is still in the community input phase, McLean and Porter said they are still figuring out the answers to many questions residents had. 

Porter told The Daily he was largely able to understand many of the insights residents shared such as wanting to keep the police station close by and sustaining the feel of the neighborhood in the event of a redevelopment.

“​​It was a very informative meeting,” Porter said. “These meetings are always challenging, because as a team working on this, we have to make recommendations that consider the region, the city as a whole, the neighborhood, and have to balance all those constituencies.”

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