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After a contentious Administration & Public Works Committee meeting Jan. 9, Artists Book House decided it would withdraw from the Harley Clarke Mansion, capping off the group’s three-year attempt to revitalize the building. Harley Clarke is a long-closed beachside mansion located in the 7th Ward. In 2019, Evanston issued a Request for Proposal asking community.
City Council requested the Administration & Public Works Committee work out two separate leases for the Harley Clarke Mansion and its garden during its Oct. 10 meeting. Designed by pioneering Prairie style landscape architect Jens Jensen, Harley Clarke Mansion is registered as a National Historic Landmark. Evanston-based nonprofit The Jens Jensen Garden in Evanston has.
After extensive delays and community-wide conflict, the years-long debate about the future of the Harley Clarke Mansion appears to be headed toward resolution after City Council voted Monday to accept Artists Book House’s proposal for the property.
The final tally on the issue was 7-1, with Ald. Tom Suffredin (6th) as the lone dissention and Ald. Ann Rainey (8th), who attended the meeting, abstaining from the vote. One of four groups who submitted proposals for the property, Artists Book House hopes to transform the mansion into a literary center.
The organization received the highest rating in a weighted review of the proposals from city staff members which looked at factors including public benefit and financial plausibility. The panel consisted of eight city staff members representing sectors such as the city’s Public Works Agency and Community Development Department, as well as its purchasing division in the city manager’s office, city Management Analyst Tasheik Kerr said