TCC Announces First Tenant at Evanston Labs Development on Chicago’s North Shore

Trammell Crow Company (TCC), a global real estate developer, signed a lease with Etta Collective at the Evanston Labs development in Evanston, IL. The Etta restaurant concept will occupy the 6,808-square-foot ground-floor retail space at the building, which broke ground earlier this year. Once complete in Spring 2024, Evanston Labs will deliver 177,575 square feet of Class A advanced sciences space to Chicago’s North Shore submarket. Etta is planning to open the neighborhood eatery during Summer 2024.

“Etta is a neighborhood restaurant that serves delicious wood-fired food. Centered around the wood-fired hearth, our expert culinary team peppers each menu with their favorite seasonal dishes that are meticulously crafted, so our guests always get a top-notch culinary experience,” shared David Pisor, CEO of Etta Collective. “We are thrilled to be opening our third Chicago location at the North Shore’s most anticipated new development, Evanston Labs. As we continue our national expansion– we currently have five locations in the U.S., with two more Etta’s and a new steakhouse concept anticipated to open two locations by next year. We look forward to growing our partnership with TCC in key markets.”

Etta will occupy the entire first floor retail space of Evanston Labs, located at the southwest corner of Orrington Avenue and Clark Street in Evanston. Evanston Labs is a world-class lab building just steps away from Northwestern University. The 10-story building will include a combination of lab and office space with spectacular views of Lake Michigan and the surrounding neighborhood. Each floorplate is designed to accommodate both single and multi-tenant users. There will also be a tenant floor dedicated to housing lab-ready graduation suites, ranging from 5,000 to 9,000 square feet. In addition, there will be a penthouse amenity center for tenants, including a boardroom, a bar and lounge, an outdoor terrace, and a health and wellness center.

“With Evanston Labs’ location at the prime corner of Orrington & Clark, acting as a gateway entrance for both Northwestern University and Evanston’s vibrant downtown, our team was looking for the right partner to bring the necessary energy to activate this space. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Etta Collective to Evanston. David Pisor, Executive Chef Dan Perretta, Beverage Director Micah Melton and the real estate development team led by David Burden plan to build incredible restaurant concepts that are the perfect spot for friends, family, and coworkers alike to eat and drink in a fun, relaxed environment,” said Johnny Carlson, Principal at TCC’s Midwest operations.

ESG Architects is the architect of record for Evanston Labs; CRB is the lab planning group, and Power Construction Company is the general contractor. Dan Lyne and Brandon Green of CBRE are responsible for the marketing and leasing for the lab and office space. The tenant is exclusively represented by David Burden of Colliers, who is a leading the national development pipeline for the restaurant group.

Evanston Labs is TCC’s latest advanced sciences development in the Chicagoland area, having recently completed the Fulton Labs portfolio in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood. Fulton Labs at 400 N Aberdeen, a 425,000-square-foot advanced sciences/office development, was delivered in February of 2022 and 1375 West Fulton, a 300,000-square-foot wet/dry lab and office building, delivered in May of 2020. Additionally, Trammell Crow Company, in partnership with Beacon Capital, has begun construction on Hyde Park Labs, a 300,000 RSF advanced sciences building adjacent to the University of Chicago with anticipated delivery in Q4 2024.