Trammel Crow Chicago Development presented plans for a 10-story mixed-use office building at 1732-34-40 Orrington Avenue to the Design and Plan Review Committee at a special online meeting on the morning of January 5th. The committee unanimously approved the proposal, which will also require approval from the Land Use Commission and the City Council.
The development, which, according to city records, “aims to attract a wide range of science and technology users seeking research and development space in Evanston and the North Shore community,” replaces a Burger King franchise that has been vacant since December 2020, and a residential building on the southwest corner of Orrington Avenue and Clark Street.
The site is currently zoned to the D2 Downtown Retail Core District. Developers will need a site rezoning for the D3 Downtown Core Development District. They are also seeking approval for a special use for a planned development and their required permits for their proposed floor area ratio of 7.0, height of 149.5 feet, modifications to the street ziggurat setback requirement, and number of parking spaces. of parking.
Initial plans call for a parking garage on the lower level, lobby on the first floor, eight levels of commercial-use space, indoor roof amenities on the 10th floor and a roof cover for mechanics. The development also includes 35 parking spaces, eight spaces for motorcycles and a cargo space.
John Carlson of Trammel Crow said the life sciences and research facility would offer “a little bit of a different variety of office facilities” due to its focus and would be comparable to facilities in Chicago or the east or west coasts.
Trammel Crow, whose local headquarters are in Oak Brook, opened a similar facility, the 14-story Fulton Labs, at 1375 W. Fulton St. in Chicago in 2021. Another Fulton Labs development at 400 N. Aberdeen St. in Chicago is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2022.
The company is building the Evanston facility to specification, so no tenants are currently being proposed. Authorities will seek a LEED Silver certification, but architect Matt Blewitt of Minneapolis-based ESG Architecture & Design acknowledged that the lab buildings “pose challenges because they use energy differently.” He added, however, that “our goals go beyond LEED in some ways.”
Committee officials made their approval dependent on a few minor factors noted by Jessica Hyink, the city’s Transport and Mobility Coordinator: bike racks installed according to Association of Pedestrians and Bicycle Professionals guidelines, sidewalks transported smoothly down the alley, pedestrian walkway maintained between the building and courtyard and proposed showers for changing rooms indicated in Trammel Crow’s construction plans.
Council member Clare Kelly (1st District) was optimistic and praised the proposal, but nevertheless expressed concern that the building’s exterior wall faces west rather than being more flush with other buildings to the south. Carlson said that space logistics ultimately determined the building’s placement. Kelly called the location “an extremely important corner” for the neighborhood.
Carlson also noted that Trammel Crow was working with the city’s legal department to ensure the facility would remain in private hands and would not risk falling on local tax lists.
