CREDITS: 1.75 CM

ABSTRACT

The UrbanEco on Grant pocket neighborhood places twelve compact, energy-efficient homes around a central courtyard within a traditional R3 Two-Family Residential zoning lot. This mobile tour unpacks the initial controversy and ultimate success of the project.  Attendees will discover how innovative zoning, aligned City Council housing and economic goals, and a persistent developer collaborated to connect missing-middle buyers to established urban amenities.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 

1. Analyze how a 12 unit development was approved on Evanston’s R3 zoning lot, illustrating how flexible regulatory frameworks connect goals for density and home ownership for the missing middle with neighborhood-scale design.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of compact, energy-efficient condo (ownership) typologies in bridging the "missing middle" housing gap, assessing how this model connects middle-income buyers to high-resource, transit-adjacent neighborhood business districts.
3. Create strategies for replicating sustainable infill developments in other municipalities to stimulate local economic ecosystems, exploring how targeted density expands the tax base and connects established commercial corridors to new residents—opening up neighborhoods historically restricted to large single-family homes.