Politics & Government

Bright Horizons Coming to Former Borders Site

The empty building on Orrington Ave. once held a Walgreens and Borders bookstore.

The long vacant property on Orrington Avenue will soon be bustling with new life. A Bright Horizons children's center has been approved by the Evanston city council to fill a space once owned by Walgreens and Borders.

The item was approved by the city council on Monday. A special use zoning permit was required in order to put a daycare center in the space.

"For the location at 1629 Orrington, Bright Horizons has partnered with Evanston Hospital and Northwestern University to provide childcare services currently not being provided for at both institutions," the city said of the new business, in a city council informational packet.

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Bright Horizons plans on creating more than 50 new full and part time jobs for the center, which will serve a maximum of 308 children. The building it will occupy has been vacant for about ten years, according to city officials.

One concern among community members discussing the plan was parking and traffic congestion in the already busy downtown area. A study on parking spaces was included in the company's application for a special use permit, which noted that it believes there will be minimal impact on traffic if it moves into the space. The city said peak periods for dropping off and picking up children will be 7:00-9:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Evanstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The item passed without discussion in the meeting. Watch the full meeting here.


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