Evanston’s Tallest Tower Moves Forward

Updated rendering of 605 Davis Street by SCB

The Evanston City Council has approved plans for the city’s newest—and tallest—tower at 605 Davis Street in the heart of downtown. Located near the intersection with Chicago Avenue, the proposal will replace a vacant lot and a drive-thru bank just east of the city’s current tallest structure, Orrington Plaza.

Site map of 605 Davis Street via Google Maps

Efforts for the tower are being led by Vermilion Development, which has pursued approval for the project over the past few years, including a rejection by the Land Use Commission late last year. Since then, the team has scaled back the design in response to community input, with Chicago-based SCB serving as the architect.

Comparative renderings of 605 Davis Street by SCB

Previously proposed at 31 stories and 330 feet tall, the approved plans reduce the structure to 29 stories and 299 feet. This would still place it above Orrington Plaza’s 277-foot height, as well as the city’s 243-foot height limit. The revisions included removing one of the lower-level podium floors, cutting on-site parking in half to 40 spaces while retaining ground-floor retail.

With the reduced parking count, the project will partner with the city to lease 153 parking spaces in nearby garages, similar to the arrangement at 900 Clark Street. According to the developer, this will generate an additional $211,000 in annual revenue for the city while increasing utilization of excess garage capacity, which typically peaks at 56 percent occupancy during the day.

Rendering of 605 Davis Street by SCB

The upper floors will contain 419 residential units, including studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts aimed at families. Of these, 84 units will be designated as affordable, allowing the project to benefit from a tax incentive that will phase in property taxes over the first 12 years. Residents will also have access to amenities such as a dog run, gym, lounges, and more.

Updated rendering of 605 Davis Street by SCB

Similar to many other projects across the metropolitan area, the tower will feature a brick-clad podium topped with outdoor space, while the upper structure will incorporate a mix of glass and decorative metal panels. With approval secured, early site preparation work is now underway, with the team aiming to deliver units in early 2028. A new website can be found here.

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8 Comments on "Evanston’s Tallest Tower Moves Forward"

  1. Only 10% parking ratio is impressive for Evanston.

  2. Is this new news?

    I was under the impression that Evanston’s city council had given this project final approval back in november of last year?

    Was there a new recent council vote pertaining to this project?

    • This is the compromise of Evanston rejecting approval of the previous design earlier this year. Month?

      The tower was recently reworked to being fatter and shorter with a big change in parking provided.

      This move has made the tower produce bigger shadows, which was the reason for making it shorter. (NIMBYs aren’t that smart) and be more reliant on adjacent parking garages. That could limit future parking redevelopment within the city.

      • Drew, the Evanston Land Use Committee rejected the original, slighlty taller design last Septemeber.

        The project was then modestly reworked by the development team to its current interation over the course of that fall, and was then approved by a full city council vote of 5-4 on Nov. 10 of 2025.

        My question was in regards to whether or not there was a NEW, RECENT vote by the Evanston city council pertaining to this project.

        Both EvanstonNow and Evanston Roundtable have reported nothing about such occuring, and both publications usually do a pretty good job of stayng on top of significant Evanston development proposals.

        • Maybe not heavily reported, but I am positive I recently heard about this adjustment that got the project to the finish line. The mayor, working with the developer, unloaded this, which resulted in not breaking the “too tall for a city” arbitrary height limit.

          So yes, this is new news that will result in construction if permitting and funding go smoothly.

          • Drew, all of the changes mentioned in this YIMBY article regarding the reduction of the height from 330’/31 doors down to 299’/29 floors by removing one floor of residences and one floor of parking (and leasing parking spaces in nearby city parking garages) are the exact same changes made to the project to get it approved by Evanston’s city council last November, as reported in an article published by Evanston Now, dated Nov. 11 2025.

            So what exactly is the “new” news here?

            That is what I am trying to understand.

            It’d be helpful if this article’s author would enlighten us.

  3. A win in NIMBYTown, wow. New stadium and apartment building, Evanston residents shudder in horror.

  4. Bobby Siemiaszko | April 28, 2026 at 6:42 pm | Reply

    I love that they are utilizing other parking garages since many of those are barely half used. I wonder how many underutilized parking garages can do the same thing when we start building towers again instead of adding parking to the new buildings.

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