Committee advances 1611 Church Street residential conversion to City Council

The Evanston Planning and Development Committee moved Ordinance 2026 (an amendment to Ordinance 59024 and major variations) for 1611 Church Street to the City Council after a project presentation on March 9.

Tom Gorggashon, who said he lives at 1107 Hull Terrace, presented the proposal to convert an approximately 1-acre site containing a roughly 12,000-square-foot, 100-year-old bow-truss warehouse building into an eight-unit residential project. He described retaining exposed bow trusses and creating mezzanine-style second floors, and said the conversion would yield roughly 3,500 square feet of common area (about 450–500 square feet less than earlier plans).

Gorggashon said the developer plans to add a roughly 1,000-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU) above a new four-car garage to improve project feasibility and generate revenue. He described raising portions of the roof where needed to create additional bedrooms inside units and said the project will comply with current building codes, including full sprinklering, and obtain required permits.

After the presentation the committee took a roll-call vote; members recorded votes in favor and the motion passed to send the ordinance to City Council for final review.

The project representative said staff reports indicate the proposal meets the standards under consideration and answered members' questions about unit layout and code compliance. The committee did not take final action beyond forwarding the item to council.