The Land Use Commission unanimously approved recommendations for a new addition to Downtown Evanston nightlife and the expansion of co-housing units at its Wednesday night meeting.
Kurt Schauer, owner of Local Note jazz club, left the meeting one step closer to the expected launch in the coming months.
The commission expressed support for Schauer’s special use request to allow live music performances at 1716 Sherman Ave. Schauer said the permit is a cornerstone of his vision to create a spontaneous jazz experience, an alternative to planned, ticketed performances that currently dominate Evanston’s arts scene. The request now heads to City Council for approval.
“We believe this venue will enhance the value of the downtown area, creating an elevated, vibrant, micro-neighborhood in that alley area that will attract much-needed foot traffic,” Schauer said. “The music is an integral component to the overall experience, not an intensification of it.”
According to Schauer, the venue will seat about 45 guests in an intimate setting featuring small jazz ensembles. Schauer addressed potential volume concerns, indicating the establishment will adopt proactive volume monitoring and carefully coordinate with musicians and staff.
Commissioner Kiril Mirintchev noted the importance of maintaining an active storefront in daylight hours in addition to generating a lively nighttime experience, given the club’s location in a high-traffic area.
Commission Chair Jeanne Lindwall echoed Mirintchev’s sentiment.
“There are a lot of daylight hours, and it’s really important to have something of visual interest for the pedestrians that are frequenting,” Lindwall said.
Although Schauer said he has yet to consider Local Note’s daytime community engagement, he acknowledged its role in future planning.
Also on the night’s agenda, Developer Tom Gourguechon requested an amendment to a 2024 Rezoning Ordinance at 1611 Church St., which previously approved the conversion of an old warehouse into a seven-unit co-housing community, a private housing complex with shared living spaces.
Wednesday’s amendment was unanimously approved, which outlined construction layout adjustments. Notably, the amendment approved transforming space currently allocated for common area functions, including a yoga studio and communal kitchen, into two additional dwelling units in the hopes of breaking even on the project.
Gourgechon said two economic hurdles “blindsided” him during development, including increased tariffs on Canadian lumber, which accounts for 80% of his company’s lumber supply, as well as federal immigration enforcement that deterred workers in the construction trade industry.
“Obviously, the world changed since we started going through this thing, and we’ve had to wrestle with that,” Gourguechon said. “And so what we’re looking is to get back into at least minimal black ink.”
The project has already paid about $268,000 in fees for seven units. Adding two units bumps the project into a more expensive city ordinance with fees totalling over $1 million. Gourgechon said these fees, combined with additional costs, would require housing unit prices to jump from the middle-market $500,000 to over $600,000.
Commissioner Loren Berlin said denying the request would price out many individuals who seek housing units and the ability to own property with a socially integrated model.
“Someone is trying to do something that I think is good with it, and us not approving the units just makes it harder to do that thing that is good,” Berlin said.
Now, Gourguechon will seek final approval from City Council for the rezoning, as well as waiving additional fees associated with the two additional units.
The meeting closed with a unanimous vote to recommend the appointment of the chair and vice chair of the commission as representatives to the Zoning Code Working Group, an initiative a part of Envision Evanston’s long-anticipated zoning rewrite.
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