Negotiations for TIF assistance for the project are currently underway. "This is something we've been trying to do for 40 years to get this area moving," says plan commission chairman Lawrence Widmayer, who suggests developers reconsider adding affordable housing units to their plan before it gets to the city council.

At $1.86 per sf, average rents will range from $1,500 a month to $1,575 a month, says Appraisal Research Counselors VP John Jaeger. Most of the units will be one-bedrooms and studios, with 24% two-bedrooms. The developers' target market is young, single professionals, although they expect applications from couples and empty-nesters.

Jaeger notes there are only three luxury multifamily rental projects in Evanston, where the supply is shrinking due to condominium conversions. Meanwhile, the population is expected to increase by 10,000 during the next five years, he adds.

The 28,400-sf site is across Howard Street from the Gateway Center retail development, and 600 feet from one of the Chicago Transit Authority's busiest elevated stations. However, its neighbor to the north is a CTA rail yard. While some members voted to recommend the project, others criticized the design by the Chicago architectural firm of Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates, while still others praised it, especially considering it a "challenging" development site."

Patrun indicates the project's economics will make adding affordable units unlikely. "It hasn't been encouraged, either, by anyone," he says of talks with city officials. "It's difficult keeping and maintaining the pro forma we've worked out."

The plan includes a ground floor lobby that in addition to a management office, will have space that can be switched from a residents-only health club to retail use depending on market conditions. One tenant of Gateway Center is Bally's Health and Fitness, says 49th Ward Chicago Ald. Joe Moore, who was surprised the exercise chain wrote in support of the project. Parking also is included on four floors, with apartments on the upper 13 floors.