City of Evanston
Home MenuOne Howard Street Economic Recovery Plan
After a nearly year long planning process, the One Howard Street Economic Recovery Plan is now complete! While Howard Street is the municipal border between Chicago and Evanston, this plan is committed to a unified approach to economic recovery and development between both Chicago and Evanston sides of the street.
Implementation of the One Howard plan has begun, and the City continues to work closely with the Rogers Park Business Alliance (RPBA) and Howard Street stakeholders to stay unified in our implementation approach and seek additional grant opportunities.
View the One Howard Economic Recovery Plan
The plan is a reflection of Howard Street neighbors and stakeholders. Throughout the planning process, the project team engaged with more than 700 residents and stakeholders, including youth, families, violence interrupters, business owners, cyclists, lifelong residents, transit riders, and local employees.
Recommendations call for improvements that directly impact the daily well-being of residents, employees, and business owners in the corridor, and prioritize tangible and immediate improvements. The implementation matrix breaks these out into immediate, short-term (5 years), and long-term (15 years). The timing of this plan aligns with the recent approval to establish a Special Service Area (SSA) along Howard Street, which will provide a sustainable funding source for implementation.
About One Howard Street
One Howard Street is a collaborative effort between Rogers Park Business Alliance and the City of Evanston to develop a unified corridor plan for Howard Street between Sheridan Road and Western Avenue/Asbury Avenue. This community-driven planning process will culminate in an action plan that charts a path toward a safe, welcoming, and prosperous Howard Street corridor.
The One Howard Street planning process will:
-
Directly engage community members and stakeholders to understand the community’s priorities for the corridor;
-
Identify opportunities for the City of Chicago and City of Evanston to collaborate on community safety, public services, business attraction and support, and other corridor-related issues;
-
Culminate in a community-supported plan that includes clear and actionable steps toward equitable economic recovery on Howard Street.
This process is made possible by inter-municipal coordination and cooperation between the City of Chicago and its delegate agency Rogers Park Business Alliance (RPBA) and the City of Evanston. Collaboration is a guiding principle of the One Howard Street process, and the project team is committed to centering stakeholder and community voices in service of a stronger corridor on both sides of the street. The One Howard Street project is funded by the State of Illinois RISE Grant, secured by RPBA in late 2022.
For more information about One Howard Street, email: economicdevelopment@cityofevanston.org
Timeline + Upcoming Events
One Howard Street Steering Committee
Sal Becovic, Becovic Properties **
David Block, Evergreen/CJE SeniorLife *
David Brown, Harrington Brown *
Ann Hinterman, Family Matters **
Lenice Levy, Good to Go ***
Susan Lloyd, Evanston 8th Ward Resident *
India Mussell-McKay, Palmhouse *
Elizabeth Nachtwey, Legacy Barber College **
Devon Reid, Evanston 8th Ward Councilmember *
Juan Rivera, Legacy Barber College **
Kyle Ryan, Office of Chicago 49th Ward Alderwoman Maria Hadden **
Bud Sanders, Chicago 49th Ward Resident **
Jack Swenson, RPBA Planning Committee **
Sheila Williams, Gale Elementary School **
* Evanston representative
** Rogers Park representative
Howard Street Resources
Howard Street and Jarvis Square SSA #19
49th Ward Alderwoman Maria Hadden
City of Evanston - Economic Development
8th Ward Councilmember Devon Reid