Ishbia Family Foundation proposes 57,000 sq ft indoor youth sports facility at former Office Depot site

The Ishbia Family Foundation and project team presented plans to convert the former Office Depot at 2722 Green Bay Road into an approximately 57,000 square‑foot, two‑story indoor youth sports facility that would include multiple indoor fields, batting cages, limited concessions and 51 off‑street parking stalls.

Eric Lynn, who described himself as leading the Ishbia Family Foundation, said the privately funded facility is intended to serve Evanston youth who currently have no local indoor baseball or comparable indoor field facilities. "There is currently no indoor baseball, softball, flag football, and soccer facility that the youth of Evanston can currently play in," Lynn said, framing the project as filling a local gap and activating a long‑vacant commercial site. He added the foundation has purchased the property and hopes to begin demolition and move toward construction so the facility could be open for the 2027 playing season.

Architect Brett Taylor (Gensler) explained design choices including reutilizing the existing building footprint, repairing the existing 51‑space surface parking lot, adding a curb cut from alley access for a dedicated drop‑off lane, and using translucent façade panels to provide daylighting while limiting light spill. Project counsel Katie Jankiedale said the foundation will not seek tax‑exempt status and expects the property to remain on the tax rolls; the applicant projected roughly $300,000 per year in property tax revenue subject to assessment.