EVANSTON | 708 Church St. (Fountain Square Tower) | 409 FT| 35 FLOORS

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ again, i fail to see what's weird about that. it's called city planning; it is in fact quite normal.

uhhh "wedding cake" effect? that's weird. they'd be like square-block stepped pyramids. WEIRD.

[phillyskyline]

I love the developer's vision and it's a great location.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by Marcu

Evanston may be close to Chicago but it's a world apart. Much of Evanston's old NIMBY guard is comprised of pseudo-intellectuals whose detox diets and intense meditation regimines are better suited in a Boulder or Sedona. Thankfully, the old guard is slowly being replaced by working professionals, families looking for an urban setting with good schools, and empty nesters. In other words, by real people. To the old guard, this isn't just about a tall building. This is the final straw that will make Evanston maintstream again. Expect them to fight this tooth and nail until the building is topped out.

Just a comment, these exact words could be applied to Hyde Park, where suddenly (this year), there finally seems to be a community concensus that development and density aren't bad things; if anything, they are to be encouraged to support retail vibrancy, with community input to ensure the design is appropriate from a form/aesthetic standpoint. Hopefully, as your point out, this project will represent the absolute defining turning point for Evanston in this regard (though the several large-scale projects of the last 3 years, both in the Main St and Davis St areas, show that the trend has been building for some time).

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by jstush04

^ I think its pretty weird, too. Except it might not be weird in the sense that evanston is different from other cities. But it is pretty weird how the government is trying to shape the shape of their skyline in any one direction

If Evanston planning building heights like this freaks you out, do yourself a favor and don't ever research planning in San Francisco.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G

uhhh "wedding cake" effect? that's weird. they'd be like square-block stepped pyramids. WEIRD.

you're getting hung up on the word "wedding cake". it's simply a metaphor for a tiered skyline in which there is a tall centrally located main tower surrounded by shorter buildings that taper downwards in height. it doesn't mean that they want their skyline to literally look like a wedding cake.

[Dr. Taco]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

you're getting hung up on the word "wedding cake". it's simply a metaphor for a tiered skyline in which there is a tall centrally located main tower surrounded by shorter buildings that taper downwards in height. it doesn't mean that they want their skyline to literally look like a wedding cake.

well, it might be a little too much to ask for, but I think it would make for a much more interesting city if they had a couple peaks, like chicago's spread out jhc, aon, and sears. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against city planning, but a specific "build this height here, this height here, and this height here" seems too controlling. If Evanston were to get this proposal built, I'm sure it would eventually encourage some taller buildings like it elsewhere in evanston, and I think it would be better if it wasn't a block away from fountain square

[Marcu]

^ Evanston seems to have a shortage of office space. Perhaps we can see a 400 foot office tower proposal in the next few months if fountain squaqre gets the go. As with any large scale suburban project, fountain square's approval is critical for several proposals in the pipeline.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by jstush04

well, it might be a little too much to ask for, but I think it would make for a much more interesting city if they had a couple peaks, like chicago's spread out jhc, aon, and sears. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against city planning, but a specific "build this height here, this height here, and this height here" seems too controlling. If Evanston were to get this proposal built, I'm sure it would eventually encourage some taller buildings like it elsewhere in evanston, and I think it would be better if it wasn't a block away from fountain square

well, i think you're wishing for the impossible. should fountain square tower be approved and built, we're not going to see 500' towers popping up all over evanston, it simply isn't going to happen. i too would be more inclined to let the free market dictate where and how many tall buildings should be built in evanston, but that is not the way evanston wants to do things, so they are in the process of revising their downtown zoning to govern how tall and where high-rise buildings can be built. it may be anti-free-market, but it hardly makes evanston weird or unusual.

Originally Posted by Marcu

^ Evanston seems to have a shortage of office space. Perhaps we can see a 400 foot office tower proposal in the next few months if fountain squaqre gets the go.

in the debate over fountain square tower, other people have brought up this supposed lack of office space in downtown evanston as well, but i gotta be honest, i just don't see it. right now, in the northwest corner of downtown there is a 3 story office building that has sat vacant for years. there is space available for companies to come in and set up office space, there just doesn't seem to be any demand for it right now. hopefully that will change.

Originally Posted by Marcu

As with any large scale suburban project, fountain square's approval is critical for several proposals in the pipeline.

what are these "several proposals in the pipeline" that are reliant on fountian square tower's approval? if there are any other significant high-rise projects in the works for downtown evanston right now, they certainly haven't been made public. do you know something we don't?

[Marcu]

^ Other than a few unreliable "I heard so and so"s from several Evanstonians, I do not have personal knowledge of any new project in the pipeline. I did hear, however, that there is a proposal in the works for a large project on Oakton (former Osco site) and some sort of large office proposal downtown where B&N used to be. Not sure what is meant by "large", especially in the world of Evanston. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if a few projects do surface once Fountain Square is approved. I'm sure several developers are waiting out the storm to see the outcome.

As far as the existing vacant office space, as we have seen in the loop existing vacant space does not mean that a developer can't get record rents for new class A office space.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Marcu

I did hear, however, that there is a proposal in the works for a............... large office proposal downtown where B&N used to be.

that could be very interesting. and given that the existing structure on that site is nowhere close to being landmark worthy, it would not be a great loss if it were to be replaced by a better project. i would caution, however, that some of these "i heard so and so"s could very well have been started by the anti-development NIMBYs themselves to spread fear and paranoia amongst the community; sort of a "if they approve fountain square, i heard they might propose another big tower project across the street from it, oh the horror". well, whether the rumor is just fear mongering or based in some reality, i guess we'll just have to wait and see how fountain square pans out before anything substantive is made public about any other big proposals in downtown evanston, if such proposals even exist right now.

Originally Posted by Marcu

As far as the existing vacant office space, as we have seen in the loop existing vacant space does not mean that a developer can't get record rents for new class A office space.

that does work in downtown chicago, but the equation might be different in evanston. that said, i would certainly like to see more than just residential highrises built in downtown evanston, the more you mix the uses, the more interesting things get. if a developer can pull off a large office project in downtown evanston, more power to him. though i do maintain my skepticism.

[honte]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

what are these "several proposals in the pipeline" that are reliant on fountian square tower's approval? if there are any other significant high-rise projects in the works for downtown evanston right now, they certainly haven't been made public. do you know something we don't?

The principals of Garrison partners mentioned in an interview on YoChicago that they plan to start marketing a new high-rise on the North side of downtown Evanston...

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by honte

The principals of Garrison partners mentioned in an interview on YoChicago that they plan to start marketing a new high-rise on the North side of downtown Evanston...

i believe the highrise that you're refering to is Carroll Place, an 18 story condo proposal on the northside of downtown that has already been fully approved by the city. or are you talking about another unknown condo project on the northside of downtown evanston that garrison is also going to be marketing as well?

Carroll Place:

[honte]

^ That could be the one. Honestly, I find it hard to keep up with the Evanston proposals, since I don't know the roads very well by name.

As they plan to start marketing soon, you're probably correct that it's an already-approved project.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i just realized another meaningless claim to fame for this building. if it is approved and moves to construction sometime in 2008, it would likely become the tallest under construction building in the midwest outside of chicago. the current holder of that title is the 406' river house condos in grand rapids.

there are three proposals in other midwest cities that could be taller (the 689' queen city square in cincy, the mixed-use 43 story lake pointe tower in milwaukee, and the revamped 50 story nicollet project in minneapolis), but it seems likely that all of their their construction time lines will be further out, if they even get built at all, leaving the 523' fountain square tower in little old evanston to claim this title should things continue to go well for this project.

and yet another meaningless claim to fame for this project: if it is built, evanston would become the only city in america to have 1 building over 500' and no other buildings over 300'.

[Steely Dan]

word is that this project will likely be on the agenda when the city council's planning & development committee meets on Feb. 11 at 6:30pm.

stay tuned........

[nergie]

I hope Evanston could become Chicago's version of Bellevue. I know this might be a dream but dreams can happen.

[OhioGuy]

Fingers crossed.

[Steely Dan]

more waiting....................



Aldermen delay tower debate until March
Submitted by Bill Smith on Tue, 02/12/2008 - 10:46am.

Evanston aldermen ran out of time Monday to start a scheduled review of the proposed 49-story tower project on the Fountain Square block.

full story: http://evanstonnow.com/business/bill...te-until-march

[Steely Dan]

buried in an article from evanstonnow.com about the evanston city council meeting last night, is this paragraph about fountain square tower:


The aldermen also started discussion in their Planning and Development Committee of the proposed 49-story condo development at 708 Church St, hearing a presentation about the project from its developers. They've scheduled a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 17, to hear public comment on the project.

link: http://www.evanstonnow.com/governmen...ration-measure

[BVictor1]

http://www.evanstonnow.com/business/...wntown-heights
Plan board slices downtown heights
Submitted by Bill Smith on Thu, 03/13/2008 - 10:30am

The Plan Commission Wednesday started redrawing the map of downtown to downscale Evanston's future.

The commissioners agreed to make the following changes in maximum zoning heights proposed in the draft downtown plan developed by city consultants:


**Fucking morons**