Facing uphill climb, developers agree to shrink Evanston office project

R2 Cos. and T2 Investments have shaved off a floor of office space and a parking level at 1714 Chicago Ave.

A rendering of 1714 Chicago Avenue (Credit: City of Evanston)
A rendering of 1714 Chicago Avenue (Credit: City of Evanston)

A venture of R2 Companies and T2 Investments is shrinking its proposed Evanston office project in hopes of winning over skeptical city officials.

Matt Garrison of R2 Companies (Credit: LinkedIn)

Chicago-based R2 and Wheaton-based T2 Investments now are proposing an 11-story building at 1714 Chicago Avenue, shaving one office floor and one parking level off a proposal that was rejected by city planners earlier this month, according to Evanston Now.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The developers Monday night unveiled the revised proposal for the site, which is currently a 74-space, city-owned public parking lot. As part of their revised plan, the developers would make 74 parking spaces in the new building available to the public full-time, up from 28 spaces in their previous proposal.

While the revised height of the building and number of parking spaces match what the city sought when first opening up the site to potential development, the developers still face an uphill climb because they need at least 7 of 9 aldermen to approve the plan and two already said they will oppose it, according to Evanston Now. [Evanston Now] — John O’Brien