Aldermen Solicit Interest In New Buyers For Evanston Library Lot

EVANSTON, IL — Aldermen voted to formally terminate an expired deal with a developer to build offices on city-owned property in the 1700 block of Chicago Avenue. The Evanston City Council authorized staff to solicit letters of interest from other investors interested in buying and developing the parcel, which is commonly known as the library parking lot.

Ald. Judy Fiske described the council's rejection of a proposal for an 11-story office building on the the site as a "great mistake," saying she was aware that other apparently qualified developers have expressed interest in buying the property.

"I would like to know who else is out there, what they're offering to pay for that lot and what they're interested in building. Whether it's an office building or an apartment building or a condo building, I would just like to have that information if it was out there," Fiske said. "Because right now we don't know. Other than the one letter of interest that we received today, I've heard of at least two other developers who are also interested and possibly a third."

City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz confirmed staff had already received an unsolicited formal offer to buy the site.

"We've had some anecdotal interest," Bobkiewicz told aldermen. "We did receive late Friday [June 21] a written offer from a developer for the property. So that is the first written offer that I have received."

Without first knowing who else was already interested in buying the land, Fiske said the city was just "resetting and starting over again." The 1st Ward alderman noted current zoning on the site allows for an 85-foot-tall structure with four floors of parking, roughly the same as was requested by the developer of the rejected office tower.

The council declined to approve the development in March after agreeing more than 18 months prior to sell the parcel for $4 million as part of a proposal to build an 11-story office building. The developers said the plan would have brought 500 jobs and $2 million in annual tax revenue to Evanston.

The final plan fell two votes short of the seven required for approval. A petition from neighbors meant a supermajority of aldermen was required to approve the zoning changes the developer wanted.

In April, 6th Ward Ald. Tom Suffredin revived the proposal through a motion to reconsider, which he was able to put forward because he had voted against the plan earlier. He had been joined in voting 'no' by 3rd Ward Ald. Melissa Wynne, 4th Ward Ald. Don Wilson and 7th Ward Ald. Eleanor Revelle.

In May, Ald. Judy Fiske, a supporter of the project, suggested a modification to the city's zoning code that would effectively eliminate the requirement for a supermajority of aldermen to approve a development on the site. But the Plan Commission rejected that change earlier this month.

At the June 24 City Council meeting, Revelle suggested feedback from residents about their vision for the site should be incorporated into the council's future decisions.

"We did hear a lot from the community for three years," Revelle said. "But what we mostly heard was what people didn't want, and I don't think we've really heard yet in a constructive way what people do want."

Wynne said aldermen need to put some thought into the framing of any request for interest so that it includes precisely what the city wants in a future development for the 1714-20 Chicago Ave. site.

"Unless we put some parameters about it, I think we'll get apples, oranges, bananas," Wynne said. "We're going to get a lot of things that we really can't effectively compare to each other."

Wilson said he was hesitant to move forward with the matter without it being on the agenda. Under the Illinois Open Meeting Act, public bodies can not take certain actions without providing such notice to the public. Wilson also noted the unsolicited offer was for an apartment building, but aldermen had only approved the sale of the site for an appropriately sized apartment building

"People are not generally aware that we were going to be talking about taking steps in furtherance of it," Wilson said. "So I don't want to preclude people from the conversation or preclude people from having the opportunity to hear what we're going to say about it."

"This is not a full-blown proposal, but just that we'd have a period of time for anyone who's interested in discussing further purchase of the land, that they'd make themselves known," Bobkiewicz said.

Clerk Devon Reid pointed out if the matter was being sent to the full City Council rather than a committee, the council's rules require a vote to be taken.

"I'm fine with it coming to council. You guys have, in the past, referred things to council," Hagerty said. "This is the method in which it's done."

"It just requires a motion and a vote," Reid said.

"It does not," Hagerty said.

"Our council rules 18.11 and 18.12 — it does require a motion and a vote," said the clerk.

"It's a 'may' not a 'must'," suggested Bobkiewicz.

City attorney Michelle Masoncup corrected the mayor, citing the sections of the rules the clerk mentioned. She explained to aldermen that sending the motion to the full council indeed requires a majority vote.

Instead, Fiske referred the draft request for interest to the Planning and Development Committee, which did not require a vote. City staff are expected to provide aldermen with a draft request of interest on July 8.

Earlier:

• Evanston Aldermen Reject Office Building On Lot Owned By City
• Neighboring Condo Owners Delay Hearing On Evanston Office Tower
• Architect Submits Plans For Office Tower On Evanston Library Lot
• $4 Million Evanston Library Parking Lot Sale Moves Ahead