Renovation of a theater / auditorium in Evanston, Illinois. Conceptual plans call for the renovation of a theater / auditorium.

As of January 6, 2023, this project is currently in the FY 2023-2027 CIP . Funding for this project is allotted in the city's capital improvement plan for construction Fy 2024. A firm timeline has not been established; however, construction is scheduled for Fiscal Year 2024. https://evanstonroundtable.com/2022/09/21/sobering-capital-costs-as-city-identifies-problem-facilities-and-aging-playgrounds/ Sobering capital costs as city identifies 'problem facilities' and aging playgrounds The city owns and maintains roughly 60 buildings, counting park field houses. While all have the usual issues that happen as buildings age, six of the city's buildings are "problem facilities" with major issues that need to be addressed, a city official said in a discussion of the city's Capital Improvement Program Sept. 19. Lara Biggs, the city's Capital Planning and Engineering Bureau Chief, said at the meeting the six "are getting very close to having failure of multiple building systems ... with their HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning), electrical and potentially other things, all at the end of their life. "And staff does not realistically expect them to be operating in five years without major investment," she said. The problem facilities Going over her list, Biggs said the Evanston Animal Shelter, 2310 Oakton St., "in addition to being entirely too small for its current use," also has a HVAC system, "held together with scotch tape." She continued, "Last year they [the volunteers who run the shelter] had the compressor go out. I think they went on eBay and found a compressor part that would replace it, because legally we cannot replace the HVAC system... [without bringing] the building up to code, and there is no way to bring the existing building up to code. It doesn't meet ADA (American Disabilities Act) or many other issues." The shelter has received a $2 million grant from the Cook County Animal Shelter Grant Program, and the Evanston Animal Shelter Association, the large volunteer organization that oversees it on a day-to-day basis, is the midst of a raising additional funds towards a new facility. The city is also supposed to kick in money to replace the cramped facility. Officials have set aside $2.36 million for construction in the draft of the 2023 Capital Improvement Program budget. The cost of a new facility ranges between $5 and $10 million. Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center The Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., which houses city offices, has been an item of discussion dating back to the 1990s. Biggs told Council members, "Essentially we're getting to the point where we need to decide if we're going to stay there and need to renovate, or if we're going to build a new facility." The city has an ongoing study on the question, "which we'll be talking about in the next month or two," she told Council members. But, she said, "from the moment we decide, it's going to take three to five years for us to be in a new building or a fix up [this] building," she said. "It's a big project, so it's going to take time to pull together." Officials are projecting to spend $4.9 million in the 2023 CIP budget for repointing exterior brick and window replacement at 2100 Ridge Ave. Staff is also recommending budgeting $1.3 million in 2023 on consulting services to explore a move. Biggs said water seeping in caused the failure of part of the exterior in one section of the building. "And, as we look at the windows and we look at the brick, there's a lot of places where water can get in," she said, point out the necessary repairs. Evanston Ecology Center and three more Issues at the Ecology Center, 2024 McCormick Blvd., were "on the radar," Biggs told Council members when the city undertook a small project to upgrade the bathrooms. In the process, staff discovered a problem with moisture getting into the building's subfloor system. There is now almost $1.5 million in the budget for building renovation. The other three other problems are: The Municipal Service Center, 2020 Asbury Ave., where officials estimated as much as $30 million in renovations are needed; The Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., where officials are projecting $6 million plus in costs between 2024 and 2027, including $3 million to the building's HVAC and heating system. Police/Fire Headquarters, at Elmwood Avenue and Lake Street, where officials are putting aside close to $6 million over the same period, including $1.75 million for renovation of the building's holding area and offices. Biggs observed, "These three buildings, which are 10% of our building population, are absorbing 80% of the projected General Obligation Bond for facilities next year." She also recommended, "As a city, [we] start coming up with plans for what we want to do with our building stock long-term." The city draws on a number of funding sources to pay for big capital projects, including tax increment financing district funds (limited to the boundaries of the specific TIF), Illinois Environmental Protection loans (for water and sewer projects only), more recently federal American Recovery Plan Act (for parking garage, water main and lead line replacements), and General Obligation bonds, where the cost of a project can be paid out over time with added interest. __________________________ HVAC and Unit Heaters improvements at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center. As of September 24, 2021 no new CIP issued, this project is currently in the FY 2022-2026 CIP . Funding for this project is allotted in the city's capital improvement plan for Fiscal Year 2023. A firm timeline has not been established; however, construction is scheduled for Fiscal Year 2023. *Project information has been obtained through a public capital improvement plan (CIP). A CIP is a financial schedule for short- and long-range projects which is updated regularly. Information listed in the CIP often evolves based on funding availability and the project details, including timeline and value, are subject to change. The content management team will continue to pursue additional details as they become available.