Chicago Suburb Evanston Could Create Developer Opportunities

Multifamily developers in Evanston could benefit from proposed zoning changes allowing up to four units on residential lots citywide.

Conversations about zoning reform are intensifying, and the city’s Housing and Community Development Committee supports the plan, called Envision Evanston 2045, Evanston Now reported.

The proposal could create more housing diversity and address the need for “missing middle housing,” which includes duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes that are often more affordable than single-family homes.

Advocates of the plan say it could help retain younger families and residents who might otherwise leave the city due to a lack of suitable housing options. Small multifamily developments could be designed to blend seamlessly with existing neighborhoods, said Community Development Director Sarah Flax.

“If you have an option of doing a four-unit building that is the same scale, the same footprint and the same height, it’s not necessarily going to be deeply affordable housing, but it will be more affordable,” Flax said.

Potential challenges for developers remain, particularly concerning nonconforming lots. Almost half of single-family lots in Evanston are too small to meet existing zoning standards. While the revision would reduce this percentage to 40 percent, many lots would still be restricted to single-family.

State funding is expected to become available via Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide zoning reform initiative, aimed at creating more affordable housing.

Some of the developers contributing to Evanston’s growth are Celadon Partners, which is redeveloping the Harley Clarke mansion into a 10-key hotel with a restaurant, bar and ice-cream parlor.

GW Properties is considering a 25-story residential project in downtown Evanston, and CityPads and Catapult Real Estate Solutions are planning a 230-unit apartment building on Custer Avenue.