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* Tribune…
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is throwing its support behind the massive transit center and megadevelopment proposed over train tracks near Soldier Field, which it says could create $120 billion worth of new jobs, taxes and other economic benefits over the next four decades.
The nonprofit business organization, which represents more than 1,000 companies in the Chicago area, on Wednesday unveiled a report outlining the potential impact of the proposed One Central project on the local economy, tourism and regional transportation. […]
One Central would create a massive transit center that would bring together CTA, Metra and Amtrak trains, as well as bus station and a bus or tram route on an existing access road along train tracks between the McCormick Place convention center and the Loop.
One Central will need all the help it can get as it tries to coordinate plans with transit agency leaders, handle the concerns expressed by neighbors and alderman and deal with a new mayor. Landmark will need all of them on board before it can break ground.
It’s unclear how the developer plans to finance the complex project, and whether it might include state or federal funds. Landmark has previously said it does not intend to seek tax-increment financing from the city.
The Chicagoland Chamber’s report is here.
* Sun-Times…
The “deck” or “table top,” as Chicagoland Chamber CEO Jack Lavin likes to call it, would transform a 34-acre site that is now a “barrier between neighborhoods and lakefront attractions” into a transit center unlike any Chicago has seen.
Metra rail lines, Amtrak, the CTA Orange Line and a so-called “Chi-Line” along an under-used dedicated busway would all come together in one location. With trams or buses, Chicago would finally have its elusive downtown “circulator” linking McCormick Place, the Museum Campus, Navy Pier, Millennium Park and downtown hotels. […]
It shows an unsightly plot of land that now generates just $23,000 in annual property tax revenue could become a $120 billion cash cow over the next 40 years.
Even if the $3.8 billion “Civic Build” that includes the “table top and transit center” requires a significant contribution from Chicago taxpayers, it would be worth the investment, Lavin said.
It would dramatically increase the number of people living within a 45-minute commute of downtown, and could support 42 million CTA and Metra riders by year 40. That translates into $3.6 billion in “cumulative farebox revenue,” the study shows.
* Curbed…
Despite the chamber’s glowing endorsement and Landmark Development’s claim that One Central won’t seek controversial tax increment financing (TIF), the project will need to overcome some political obstacles before it becomes a reality.
It will need to win over incoming Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a growing City Council contingent that has vowed to be less friendly to large developer interests, and—perhaps most importantly—local 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell who already said she will push for significant reductions to One Central’s height and density.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:01 am
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Obviously, the devil is in the details. (I don’t believe for a second this won’t involve TIF funds.) But figuring out a way to build above the rail road makes a ton of sense. Gentrification without displacement.
Comment by Roman Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:05 am
===Alderman Pat Dowell===
I thought we just had an entire Mayoral campaign against Aldermanic prerogative. I guess that was just campaign rhetoric. We’ve been bamboozled again!
Comment by Just Me 2 Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:09 am
My perspective is different than many, since I don’t live in/near the Chicago area, but I’d love to see something like this happen. I take the Amtrak in to the city a couple times a year, and would do it more often if I could easily get to the museums and stuff from just the train without having to walk a decent distance or take a taxi.
Comment by Doing Human Things Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:14 am
23K in property taxes now, is there some sort of significantly different property tax rate for railroads?
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:18 am
hey jack, is tony rezko investing?
Comment by dying HDO Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:25 am
In principle this is a great idea. Boston’s “Big Dig” project built over I-93 through the heart of the city and really transformed downtown for the better.
Seattle did the same thing with its Alaskan Way viaduct. It deconstructed an elevated freeway, put it underground, and provided more access for people to interact with the Puget Sound waterfront.
Comment by Scamp640 Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:26 am
Alderman Dowell had a public meeting about this project and I was impressed with this. It could change access to the lakefront for many and finally bring mass transit to the lakefront. CTA, Amtrak and Metra all run on those lines. Maybe there are federal dollars involved.
Comment by Darcan Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:26 am
Make no little plans. Good on the chamber for getting the ball rolling.
–McCormick Place today faces a competitive global
convention climate, and would benefit from additional retail, restaurant, and entertainment amenities.–
That would constitute a fundamental shift in how McCormick Place is marketed against the two other biggies, Las Vegas and Orlando.
For years, McCormick Place has sold its relative isolation as a positive to big shows and exhibitors.
The idea is, visitors spend more time on the show floors at McCormick Place because they can’t wander off to the nearby casinos, shows, golf courses and strip clubs in Las Vegas, and the golf courses and amusement parks in Orlando.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:32 am
There are way too many unanswered questions at this point.
For example, on the transportation element alone: the “L” and Amtrak don’t run near there so who’s going to pay for diverting the Orange Line and Amtrak over to this site? The report also suggests running Metra BNSF Line trains to the development. How can/will that be done? What will the impact to those services be on travel times? What will is cost, and is this really the best investment for those services, all of which have massive “state of good repair” capital backlogs now? Will it make them better for all users or just for the folks who will live there?
Comment by Northsider Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 11:38 am
The subject of this post is causally connected to the subject of the post immediately following it.
Comment by Anon Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 12:04 pm
Well I couldn’t get over the statement a 34 acres that “now generates just $23,000 in annual property tax revenue” and I’m paying 7k a year for my postage stamp in suburban Cook?
Comment by NoGifts Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 12:24 pm
–For example, on the transportation element alone: the “L” and Amtrak don’t run near there so who’s going to pay for diverting the Orange Line and Amtrak over to this site? –
Red and Green lines sure do. Amtrak and Metra south of the Loop sure do.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 1:03 pm
Hey Rich,
My uncles, both Local 444 Ironworkers retired a year early upon the completion of McCormick Place. Things took a lot longer to plan, engineer, and construct then, yet it was built by Chicago’s elite craftsmen; two of which, that would often point (rounding I-55’s sharp turn and merger onto Lake Shore Drive) with their “Have a Tampa” cigar, claiming, “that was The Big Job, there, kid”! Massive tradeshows and exhibitions followed, but the bleak, deserted rail spurs you’d see from the driver-side window were monolithic, and dreary. Never gave a thought to the locals who lived and worked nearby—until now. Won’t the construction of ONE Central provide a much-needed boon to the residents living in the shadow of McCormick Place and Soldier Field?
Comment by Union4thePeople! Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 1:10 pm
–Red and Green lines sure do. Amtrak and Metra south of the Loop sure do.–
The Green, Orange and Red lines are all situated between Wabash and State (Green & Orange above, Red in a subway); Amtrak and Metra run west of the river.
Near enough on a map, but I repeat my questions: How do you divert them over to “One Central”? Who’s gonna pony up the billions it’ll cost to do so? Is that the best use of capital spending for those services?
Comment by Northsider Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 1:16 pm
As a Union Laborer, working on scaffold crews, downtown, I drive almost 20 miles, park, and board the daily train at Mokena Station. Barring no delays or -26 *F temps, I arrive caffeine-driven for a brisk walk to our job site, near Dearborn. I have worked downtown, with an average of 10 months employment, annually, for the past 17 years. I choose to work away from home because of the trained, safe workforce surrounding me, no matter if he is a 35-year journeyman or if she is an aggressive, young apprentice, working at elevations above the hustle and bustle of the Loop.
I eagerly anticipate the finished product of One Center—it will be another proud addition to the City w/ da Big Shoulders’ shoreline. If the railroads and transit lines are upgraded, as planned, I will take the family to enjoy Downtown on summer weekends—this time, without having to drive the insufferable 1-2.5 hours of I-55 Northbound or ‘Park n Ride’ at the METRA Station.
Comment by Chicago Labor 6 Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 1:30 pm
Very detailed report from the Chicagoland Chamber…can we get CTA, Metra, RTA, AmTrak, and IDOT onboard?
TIF or no TIF, alleviating tail congestion will bring high-paying jobs.
Building a Private Build or Civic Build catapults construction workers’ and business owners’ spending power into the 21st Century…where it should’ve been—if Illinois didn’t suffer 4 years of writing bad checks and dawdling amid agency shutdowns!
Comment by Union-Made Mustache Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 1:58 pm
If done right this could be an amazing benefit to the area and the local residents. Just think of the jobs it would create for years to come! I know I would come over to the museums a lot more if public transportation was available.
Comment by UnionInJustice Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 2:51 pm
- “That would constitute a fundamental shift in how McCormick Place is marketed against the two other biggies, Las Vegas and Orlando.”
What McCormick Place needs is a fundamental shift in its business plan.
McCormick Place just lost its 15th trade show since the “reforms” were implemented in 2010.
McCormick Place needs to emulate Orlando, Las Vegas and Rosemont’s business practices and find another $194 million a year in tax revenue to stay afloat.
Comment by Chicago 20 Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 5:12 pm