Evanston City Council Backs Plan To Tear Down Historic Harley Clarke Mansion

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Evanston City Council has approved a plan to tear down a 91-year-old lakefront mansion, and restore and expand the surrounding dunes and park.

Aldermen voted 5-3 on Monday to approve a privately-funded plan by the Evanston Lighthouse Dunes to demolish the Harley Clarke Mansion, and pay for landscaping and dune restoration.

Since the mansion is a national historic landmark, the $500,000 demolition plan still requires the approval of a certificate of appropriateness from the Evanston Preservation Commission.

With its stone walls and graceful lines, the English-Tudor style building is an architectural standout. It won an arts commission award when it was built in 1927.

Supporters and opponents of the demolition plan spent hours debating the issue before Monday night's vote.

The council originally planned to vote on a plan to have Evanston Lighthouse Dunes pay for $400,000 of the demolition costs, but aldermen later amended the plan so the group would cover the full cost of the project.

Evanston Lighthouse Dunes has argued tearing down the mansion will keep the site open to the public, and remove the risk of privatizing the property.

The vote to tear down the mansion comes after a plan to lease, renovate, and open it to the public was rejected last year. In 2013, aldermen also voted down a plan to convert the mansion into a hotel.