The prospect of what a small group of Design Evanston members and some city officials have been advocating for since 2022 – the creation of a new city commission – an Urban Design Commission (UDC), may be coming to reality after a two year delay since the first draft ordinance was presented.

Although this story presents the local history of creating needed housing in landlocked Evanston, it is not about affordable housing — a highly charged topic discussed during the Envision Evanston 2045 hearings. But the idea of subdividing large estates does provide additional housing, and greater density, in a city looking for more options.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Evanston’s Double Houses, published in 2024, features 42 examples of this unique housing type, scattered across Evanston’s neighborhoods. 22 additional homes are featured in the books’ catalog.

Design Evanston members participated in a presentation of the proposed 605 Davis St. project by Kerry Dickson and Richard Choi of Vermilion Development, Chris Dillion of Campbell Coyle, and James Michaels of Solomon Cordwell Buenz on Nov. 8, 2024. They shared elevations and renderings for a 31-story, 445-unit residential high-rise with a retail space on the ground floor.

Professional members of Design Evanston met with the development team: Aaron Galvin with Luxury Living Chicago; Evan Meador and Will Hunter with Continuum Capital; and Joseph Antunovich and Patrick Cusak with Antunovich Associates, Architects on Jan. 28 to review their proposed project at 900 Clark Street for a 27-story, 358-unit residential high-rise with a retail space on the ground floor.