Harley-Clarke mansion. Image source: City of Evanston.
The City recently formed a Citizens Committee to seek and vet ideas for repurposing the Harley-Clarke property. SEA Board Member Linda Damashek sits on the Committee. The Committee is charged with reporting its findings to the City Council by early June. Ideas so far have ranged from razing the mansion and reclaiming its footprint as parkland to transforming the mansion into a private boutique hotel.
SEA believes that private commercialization of the mansion is the wrong approach and that keeping the property in public hands for the benefit of all Evanstonians is essential.
The Committee continues to seek ideas for options on the Harley-Clarke property, including potential funding mechanisms. Ideas can be sent to harleyclarkemansion@cityofevanston.org.
The Committee’s next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 25th, 7pm at the Civic Center, and the public is invited to attend.
A good source of further information on this issue is the Evanston Parks and Lakefront Association (EvPLA), which can be found on Facebook via www.evpla.org.
