The former Burger King at the corner of Orrington Avenue and Clark Street is being torn down, along with an adjacent vacant residential building. Demolition work, which began this week, was ongoing Tuesday.
Developer Trammell Crow Co. plans to build a 10-story laboratory sciences building on the site. Plans call for the 100,000-square-foot building to include a lower-level parking garage with 35 spaces and a first-floor lobby with space for retail or a restaurant.
The old Burger King operated for close to 44 years on the corner. It was once open 24 hours a day and was a longtime Northwestern student hangout, due in part to its proximity to the university. The school’s campus is across the street to the north. The fast-food restaurant closed for good in December 2020.
But the vacant property has not gone without serving to the city. The Evanston Fire Department conducted a training exercise at the site in September.
With B-K and Barnes Noble closed, I went from going down town Evanston from 6-7 days per week to 0 days. The food police made it so hard on B-K and McDonalds [Taco Bell?]—with city support to exit that they left. Now the city reaps the cost.