Autobarn Will Present Expansion Plans Tuesday

Big plans are in the works for 222 Hartrey Ave., the former Shure Brothers Company facility, where Autobarn is considering an expansion and may be seeking city funds to do so.

Evanston residents can hear about the plans at a neighborhood meeting Tuesday, when Autobarn owner Richard Fisher will discuss his proposal to move the dealership’s automotive service centers to the former Shure Brothers facility behind the Target on Howard Street. 

Ald. Ann Rainey (8th Ward) is hosting the meeting, which takes place at 7 p.m. at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave. Along with Fisher and Rainey, city staff will also be on hand to answer questions, according to the city’s website.

The dealership already has a contract to purchase the vacant lot at 222 Hartrey Ave. for $2.55 million, where it plans to store some vehicles, conduct some services and house some office functions, according to a memorandum prepared earlier this summer by city manager Wally Bobkiewicz. 

Autobarn has estimated that rehabilitation and construction on the Shure Brothers facility could total $8.5 million, according to the memo, and may seek city funding to do so. Proposed sources of funding include extension of a sales tax sharing agreement with the city that ended in 2013, a Cook County property tax incentive, or tax-increment financing (TIF) from Evanston.

Technically, the property lies just outside the border of the closest TIF district, Howard/Hartrey, which is scheduled to expire in tax year 2016. But city staff are investigating whether that TIF district could be expanded to included 222 Hartrey Ave., according to the memorandum. 

Other discussion topics at Tuesday’s meeting include the following:

• New landscaping of the Hartrey Ave. wall;
• Paving of the south alley of the 2100 block of Dobson St.;
• Paving of Hartrey Ave.; and
• Area street paving projects for 2014.