About Town

Why Evanston's West Side Is Stagnating

Opinion columnist Christine Wolf sits down with Evanston’s City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz and Economic Development Planner Paul Zalmezak to get the story on Evanston’s West Side.

Last week, I wrote about how Evanston’s west side appears to languish behind the rest of the city. This week, I wanted to get some answers. So I met with City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz and economic development planner Paul Zalmezak. Here's a summary of our conversation. Did Dominick’s prevent Planet Fitness from locating at Evanston Plaza? I hear the grocery store has a right to refuse certain properties there. I’m here to tell you: Dominick’s didn’t force Planet Fitness out of Evanston Plaza. According to Bobkiewicz, Planet Fitness changed its mind and went to Main Street Commons—although the grocery store does indeed have a lease giving it first right of refusal for many types of properties, including other food stores and businesses that…

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