North Cook News

The Evanston City Council met on Dec. 12 and discussed the proposed school construction in the Fifth Ward.

City Engineer Lauren Biggs spoke with the city council about the project, starting with its timeline. The project was approved in March by District 65, and lease certificates were issued for funding. She explained that the Fifth Ward school would be walkable, which would cut down on bussing costs, and this money could be used to pay the lease certificates. The estimated cost is $40 million. Biggs said the city and the district have been in communication since the start to discuss the site of where to build. The site, at Foster Field, is owned by the school district but has been leased by the city for 70 years. The termination of this lease means that the city needs to deal with zoning issues to build the new school.

“Since they own this property, it was a huge cost savings to them, and it is nice to them that it is in the center of the ward,” Biggs said.

She added, “It is a good location for a school.”

On Aug. 8 the City Council entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with District 65, and entered into an agreement with the consulting firm and city.

On Dec. 6 there was a community meeting where options were introduced on what could be done with the site to make a better school and community center. They issued a survey to the community for feedback, and these recommendations will be considered and discussed on Jan. 9 with the city council.

Biggs said that the district needs to have the school open by fall 2025. It takes 18 months, at minimum, to build a school, she said, but there are concerns about the supply chain. No real design has yet to be done on the building and the goal is to break ground in August.

“We are trying to be extremely prompt in how we make decisions, and we want to support that,” Biggs said.

The Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center at the site could consolidate with the school in an effort to preserve green space and facilities. This would be convenient and cheaper for the school, but issues with construction include that there will be a loss of green space. The whole plot will need to be used for building so any mature trees will be taken down. There will also be increased traffic in the area, and it could change procedures and routines for Family Focus which is adjacent to the property.

One aspect of the project of concern is how to share facilities within certain hours to minimize building and infrastructure costs.

“What an interesting problem to have to solve,” said Alderman Jonathan Nieuwsma. “And a good problem to have to solve is how do we fit a brand new school onto this property and integrate it with the two operations that are already so active in the community on this block right here. So interesting challenges. Sounds like the kind of thing that you might study in architecture school or something and come up with 15 different proposals. But I would just like to officially, you know, go on record in sharing some comments I've made privately that if we're going to consider doing something with Fleetwood Jordan, I think it's in the best interests of Evanston taxpayers, whether they're writing the bill to the city or writing a bill to the school district for the school district and the city to collaborate as much as we can.”

A proposed plan is set to come to the council on Jan. 9.