City Council To Consider Offer To Demolish Harley Clarke Mansion

EVANSTON, IL — A group of Evanston residents has offered to pay for the demolition of the Harley Clarke mansion, aldermen were told Tuesday. During public comment, two speakers informed the City Council they have secured enough cash to pay for the removal of the local landmark and the restoration of the lakefront site, saving the city money and putting an end to years of debate over the future of the structure. Following their remarks, an alderman directed city staff to prepare a resolution ahead of the next council meeting to move forward with the plan.

Nicole Kustok and Jeff Coney spoke in favor of a plan introduced last fall by the Evanston Lighthouse Dunes group. The 1927 French eclectic-style mansion would be torn down, while its Jens Jensen-designed gardens would be preserved. The city has owned the property since 1965, when it purchased it from a fraternity under threat of condemnation. Until 2015, it was leased for $1 a year to the Evanston Arts Center, which neglected to perform necessary maintenance on the structure.

Following a yearslong process of committees and requests for proposals – as well as aborted plans for a luxury boutique hotel or offices for a state agency – aldermen on April 9 rejected a lease with a nonprofit group that proposed restoring the house. Mayor Steve Hagerty told the Evanston Review last month the city had entered the "final phase of the Harley Clarke saga"– a debate over "whether the mansion should be salvaged, demolished and have the space restored to parkland."

Coney, who lives near the site and, until recently, was the economic development director at Northwestern University, said that he and Kustok had come to the meeting to "offer Evanston a gift" in the form of "an opportunity to restore the natural dunes, beach and parkland as part of a new public space with the iconic Grosse Point Lighthouse, a national historic landmark, as its centerpiece."

He told aldermen the beauty and historical significance of the site, where Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet showed up in 1673, predates both the lighthouse and the mansion.

Kustok, who lives across the street from the site, said the mansion and its coach house obstruct the lake and the lighthouse from public view. She said the group aimed to return the dunes to their natural state.

"We feel it is time for a new vision. We look forward to working with the entire city and its garden and green space groups on what we think would be a wonderful project for Evanston," she said, describing the plan as "completely consistent with the community’s consensus vision" for the lakefront.

"We are ready to move forward. Our gift has been secured through the generous contributions of numerous residents. No additional fundraising is required, no liability issues will persist and no prolonged construction period will be needed," said Kustok, a trader at a private investment firm in Chicago. "We are eager to meet with all of you to finalize details so that we can move ahead. We hope you share that vision and will act favorably on our offer."

Ald. Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, used identical wording as the two speakers during public comment in a request to City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz. She directed city staff to come up with a resolution to begin the demolition process and cited word-for-word the same goal of "restoring of the key elements of Jens Jensen’s historic 1920s garden and integrating them into the natural landscape while clearing and expanding the parkland and beach for the enjoyment of all members of our city."

Rainey then implied aldermen had to act fast in order to accept the gift.

"It's time to move forward," she said. "And this offer is limited."

Ald. Eleanor Revelle, who represents the 7th Ward in which the mansion is located, said it was premature to talk about tearing down the mansion. She suggested that city officials had encouraged the nonprofit group to continue raising funds in order to return to the council with a revised plan.

"I believe we’ve been suggesting informally to the members of the Lakehouse and Gardens group that if they can, in the next year, come up with $1 million for us, we will want to talk with them further about entering into a lease," Revelle said. "I think we need to give them a chance to test the waters with their vision.”

The Evanston Lakehouse & Gardens nonprofit group's proposal involves developing the mansion into an educational community center that would also host private events. Though the City Council accepted the nonprofit group's plan for the site following a request for proposals, aldermen rejected a revised version of a lease with the group, citing doubts about the group's finances and potential liability to the city.

According to a survey conducted by the Harley Clarke Citizens Committee, demolition and redevelopment as a park was the fourth most popular of five options presented. It was preferred by 12 percent of respondents, with only the option of redeveloping the site under residential zoning received fewer votes.

The mansion was included in the 2016 edition of Landmarks Illinois list of most endangered architecturally and historically significant sites in the state.

“We find it counterintuitive that there may be discussion of demolition by the city of its own landmark,” the president of the preservation group told WTTW.

With Evanston facing a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall, there appears to be little to no appetite among aldermen for any plan that could put taxpayers on the hook.

Although the details of how the teardown might be financed have yet to be negotiated, the opportunity to have a private group cover the cost clearly appeals to at least one member of the council.

The issue will be further discussed at the council's June 18 meeting.

UPDATE: Harley Clarke Demolition Negotiations Under Council Consideration »

Related:

• Alderman Reject Lease Of Harley Clarke Mansion To Nonprofit Group
• Harley Clarke Lease To Evanston Lakehouse & Gardens Set For Vote
• Lakehouse Plan Approved By Evanston City Council
• Opposition Mounts to Harley Clarke Mansion Sale
• Evanston Art Center Moves Out of Harley Clarke Mansion
• Harley Clarke's Ghost Doesn't Want to Share Mansion, Psychic Says