Annie Coakley-Inside the Ev

In this episode, we sit down with Annie Coakley. Annie is the executive director of Downtown Evanston, which was created in 1987, and provides marketing and management services to the downtown Evanston, Illinois district and is a 501(c)(6) non-profit corporation for business. Annie Coakley previously worked for the City of Chicago's Department of Planning and Development for over 14 years, managing and coordinating a wide range of programs to attract, retain and support the growth of businesses throughout Chicago. The episode walks us through what the Downtown Organization is, what it does, and why it exists, and why it is so important. She talks about the additional services it provides like advertising, landscaping and a multitude of events throughout the year. Annie talks about the new projects that are being talked about in Downtown Evanston, and what is currently being constructed. For more information you can click here. She also talks about all of the new coffee shops coming to town like Philz and Newport Coffee House. We also talk about many of the current coffee shops in Downtown Evanston like Unicorn Cafe, Other Brother, and Starbucks, Annie talk about her wishes for Evanston like an entertainment venue like Northlight Theatre; more money for public art like the Art Encounter EMAP program. More information can be found here: a pie in the sky wish for a bike route along the Metra line all the way from Evanston down to Elston similar to the 606. Reach out to Alderman Don Wilson for more information on this idea; and more landscaping similar to Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Downtown Evanston and all of their events like the Hygge Fest, which is a Danish based social winter festival which starts on February 16th at Bookends and Beginnings can be found at http://downtownevanston.org/, on Facebook at @downtownevanston, Instagram at @downtownevanston, and on Twitter at @DowntwnEvanston. I’d like to thank several people for help with today’s show. This includes my real estate brokerage, Dreamtown Realty in Evanston for helping me with my graphics for the show. I’d like to thank Industrious in Evanston for use of their space to record follow them on Instagram at @industriousevanston. And if listening to this podcast gave you the bug to buy or sell real estate, give me call or go to my real estate website at http://www.aaronmasliansky.com And don’t forget to subscribe! Thank you. Thank you for listening to The Chicagoland Guide. For thoughtful, data-driven insights on living, working, and investing in Chicagoland, visit thechicagolandguide.com. Connect with Aaron Masliansky on LinkedIn for market updates and new episodes. If you have questions, ideas, or topics you’d like covered, feel free to reach out. If you found this episode valuable, consider subscribing and sharing it with someone who cares about Chicago and its future.