Evanston projects move forward

Five development projects of various types moved forward this week with votes by the City Council.

Aldermen approved::

• A $100,000 city loan to the Heartwood Center to help fund expansion of the holistic health care center at 1818 Dempster St.
• A $1 a year lease for space on the ground floor of the Civic Center to provide temporary quarters for the new Erie Family Healh Center, which is largely funded by a federal grant.
• The sale of city-owned land at 1600 Foster St., the former Bishop Freeman warehouse site, to Brinshore Development for construction of 32 new rental housing units partly funded through the city's federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant.
• A special use permit for the planned Trader Joe's market at 1211 Chicago Ave., for which the city has acquired land that will become the store's parking lot.
• An ordinance that sets in motion a public hearing process that's expected to lead to creation of a tax increment financing district for the Chicago-Main shopping district.

Top: Cleanup work underway this morning at the former Bishop Freeman site at 1600 Foster St.