Three New Businesses Come to Evanston Plaza

By Chris Cascarano

Nicolette Jones of  We Are Beautiful said her store "has it all," from Afro-Centric greeting cards to traditional African clothing and fine art.

 

Three businesses have moved into Evanston Plaza at the corner of Dempster Street and Dodge Avenue. Two of the businesses, We Are Beautiful and Fat Boy Subs Bad Boy BBQ Sandwiches, are new businesses, and Panino's Café and Bar has relocated from Central Street.

Panino's Cafe and Bar has a wait staff, patio and bar in its new, larger location.

"It's great. I can get something to eat while I wait for my daughter," said a mother waiting outside Dance Center Evanston.

 

In the short time the businesses have been open at Evanston Plaza, they have all agreed the new location is great. "We like it here; things are working out very well," said Deana Rego, co-owner of Panino's.

"We've been working with the owner [of Evanston Plaza] on getting really good tenants to fill the storefront, and I think that's finally happening," said Judith Aiello, assistant city manager.

Fat Boy Subs Bad Boy BBQ Sandwiches features barbecue and plans to bring televised sports games to its Plaza location.

We Are Beautiful and Fat Boy Subs Bad Boy BBQ Sandwiches opened for their first day of business Sept. 11. By the end of the week We Are Beautiful had sold nearly all its artwork, said owner Nicolette Jones. And Jay Dye, owner of Fat Boy Subs Bad Boy BBQ Sandwiches, said he is excited about the location, and a lot of business has been coming.

Panino's Café and Bar moved last month from its former location on Central Street near Eastwood Avenue and has undergone several changes since the move. The new location is substantially larger than the old one and now features a wait staff, patio space, bar, delivery and catering service.

"The new location is great. Customers seem to really enjoy the new patio and wait staff," said Ms. Rego.

Selling primarily African and natural products, We Are Beautiful works at giving the community what they want, said Ms. Jones, whose father was a union president at a steel mill that once operated where Evanston Plaza is now located. "We are embedded in this community," she added. 

We Are Beautiful offers a wide variety of products, including T-shirts displaying black leaders, Afro-centric greeting cards, traditional African garments, handbags and fine art. "We search out what people ask for, and I think we've got it all," said Ms. Jones. We Are Beautiful also offers a layaway service for its more expensive and rare products. 

Jay Dye, owner of Fat Boy Subs Bad Boy BBQ Sandwiches, plans to bring unrivaled barbecued food to the area and show customers service that "will blow them away," he said. "Our approach here is good food, great barbecue and excellent service," said Mr. Dye.

Along with high-speed, friendly service, Mr. Dye also plans on showing sports games in the restaurant and giving discounts to high school students.

"We've always thought the corner was great, and I think these businesses are going to do well there," said Ms. Aiello. 

Compiling the "Preferred Plan"

Residents Build on Results of  First Planning Session

By Mary Helt Gavin

The second phase in the process of laying specific plans for redeveloping the City's west side took place Sept. 21, when consultants presented a compilation of preferences from the Aug. 31 planning session. That session studied the area roughly along Dodge Avenue from Church to Lake streets and the old Mayfair Railroad right-of-way.

The area is one of three "study areas" on which residents, City planners and consultants have collaborated over the past several weeks, in order to come up with a "preferred plan" for overall development there.

Key ideas about the Church/Dodge area
Brad Winick of JJR, one of the consultants hired by the City to facilitate the planning sessions, said key ideas from Aug. 31 included the following:
· The Church/Dodge area is the key to success.
· Diversity of all types is desirable.
· The railroad berm negatively divides the area.
· Maintaining neighborhood character is important.

Overview of real estate and commercial markets
Valerie Kretchmer of Valerie S. Kretchmer Associates gave an overview of the real estate market in the area, incorporating her suggestions about the kinds of residential and commercial developments the area should attract. Because of the price of land in Evanston, Ms. Kretchmer said multi-family housing would be the best for the area: It would be affordable, in keeping with the neighborhood and not so expensive as to drive people out.

"There's a trade-off between density and sales price," said Ms. Kretchmer. "With about 10 units per acre, you would see a price of about $700,000 per unit. With 15-20 units per acre, such as townhomes or attached houses, the price would be about $300,000 per unit. But with 30-40 units per acre the units would be more affordable," she said - around $200,000 for a two-bedroom condo. 

Rental housing - again, because of the price of land - would be impractical, said Mr. Kretchmer. "A privately financed rental building will not work, unless you use the TIF funds or another subsidy," she said, adding, "Virtually all rental housing needs subsidy."

In looking at the types of businesses to attract to the Church/Dodge area, Ms. Kretchmer said, "There's an opportunity for convenience-oriented and service businesses. Evanston Township High School [located at Church Street and Dodge Avenue] is a totally untapped market.  She said convenience-oriented businesses would not necessarily compete with the nearby shopping areas at Dempster and Dodge, Main and Dodge, Main/McCormick and downtown Evanston.

She said there is about 20,000 square feet of retail and commercial space near Church and Dodge and added, "We have to have the kind of space that will attract retailers but not price them out." She also cautioned against focusing on office space for that area.

"The relocation of the Onyx waste transfer station is key," said Mr. Kretchmer.

Three options to yield one plan
Mr. Winick presented three options for the area, based upon the Aug. 31 results. Each included low-rise (three- to four-story) buildings with a mix of retail and residential development - though with different densities proposed in each plan. Each also had a different configuration for the railroad berm and a different streetscape plan for Church/Dodge.

But there was much in common: "You told us that there was a need for improved streetscapes; that the Church/Dodge intersection needs to be planned as a people-friendly place; that mixed-use buildings and neighborhoods are desirable; and that three- and four-story buildings are reasonable," Mr. Winick told the audience of more than 100 people.   

Mr. Winick and colleagues Vishal Kundra and Rahul Mittal, along with Kevin Campbell of Campbell Tiu Campbell, invited the residents to weigh in on the three options they had created. 

Plan A called for the smallest amount of new development and retained many of the existing buildings along Church Street for adaptive reuse. Under this plan  121 new housing units and 9,300 square feet of retail space would be developed, said Mr. Winick. The pedestrian walkway under the old railroad berm would be improved, to help unify the neighborhood and improving the berm itself as greenspace. Additional housing would be developed at Lake Street and Dodge Avenue.

Plan B added more retail and residential developments and more new buildings, both at the Church/Dodge and Lake/Dodge intersections. This plan called for flattening the railroad berm, still preserving it as greenspace, and improving the walkway at Davis Street and adding a walkway at Grove Street.

Plan C entailed the greatest amount of new development, both residential and commercial, again at the Church/Dodge and Lake/Dodge intersections. This plan, in addition to flattening the berm and maintaining it as greenspace, would add vehicular traffic to the pedestrian traffic at Davis Street.

Working toward a December deadline
The consultants will then consolidate the Sept. 21 results into a "preferred plan" for the Church/Dodge area. The same format of compiling and winnowing community input will be followed for each of the other two study areas on the west side. The consultants hope to have one preferred plan for each of the three study areas ready for a general presentation, scheduled for Oct. 12 at Evanston Township High School.

They hope to present the overall  preferred plan to the City's Plan Commission at its Nov. 8 meeting and to present the plan to City Council on Dec. 11.

City Manager Requests Additional Budget Reserves

By Bill Smith

At the Sept. 18 Budget Policy Committee meeting, City Manager Julia Carroll told aldermen she will ask them to increase significantly general fund reserves in next year's City budget.

Ms. Carroll said Evanston now keeps reserves of a little over 8 percent -- or enough to fund its programs for one month. She said  she hopes to raise the reserve to 10-percent next year and that she would rather have a two-month reserve -- or about 17 percent of annual spending.

The City Manager also said the financial rating agencies look at a 10-percent reserve as a minimum goal. While the City has maintained its top-level, Triple-A financial rating, she said the rating agencies have raised concerns about funding of the City's pension program. Because of that uncertainty she believes it is important to shore up the City's financial reserves.

Ms. Carroll's request came the same day the Chicago-based Civic Federation released a report showing that most municipalities in northeastern Illinois maintain far larger reserves or rainy-day funds than Evanston does.

The Civic Federation study shows that, on average, muncipalities in the region maintained a fund balance of 19 percent as of 2003, the most recent year for which data is available. Reserve levels ranged from 4.9 percent for Chicago to an average of 44.5 percent in the collar counties.

The study reports the Government Finance Officers Association recommends that municipalities maintain reserves of 5 percent to 15 percent. It also suggests that muncipalities with reserves of 50 percent or more are setting aside too much and should consider retiring debt or reducing taxes to bring their income more in line with spending requirements.

Ms. Carroll said Evanston faces "structural budget deficit" issues in coming years because of rising electricity and fuel costs, increasing health insurance costs and forecasts that local construction activity is likely to decline as the housing market cools.