March 26, 2009 - Evanston’s ever so controversial Church Street tower may have lost several stories during the two year push by Klutznick-Fisher Development Company and Focus Development, but the project finally won approval from the City Council. The Evanston Mini-Spire, as it was nicknamed, was originally planned as a 49 story high-rise. With recently enacted height limitations and a revised building plan submitted, the tower is now shortened to 35 stories. Once constructed though it will not only be the tallest building in Evanston, but in the Chicago suburbs as well. Currently the tallest suburban building is the Oakbrook Tower at 31 stories.

The vote was 6 to 3 in favor of giving a green light for the tower to be constructed, according to a CBS 2 Chicago news report. Alderman Cheryl Wollin told CBS that because of zoning laws, allowing this tower to be built won’t set a precedent for even taller towers, which was a concern for many opposing residents. Wollin also pointed out the advantages of the project. “It will bring in new retail, new residents and really develop a corner of town that is ripe for redevelopment.”

One of the stipulations of giving approval for the tower is that no demolition at the 708 Church Street site can start until the developers have financing for the project secured. The developers of this suburban Chicago condo project have previously stated that they don’t expect to start marketing and construction until at least 2010, and the most recent timetable is that construction will begin sometime in the next 5 years. While most Chicago real estate developers are scaling back on projects, we may start to see more who are laying plans for Pre Construction Condos in Chicago to launch once the housing market rebounds.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 26th, 2009 at 5:15 pm and is filed under Luxury Condos(t) , Suburbs(t) , News(t) . You can leave a response.