Greg Hinz tours the unfinished 'superstation' under Block 37 in the central Loop, built by the Chicago Transit Authority at a cost of $218 million. It would cost an estimated $150 million to complete, a sum that's unlikely to be raised anytime soon.
"After a full year of asking, photographer Stephen Serio and I a few days ago finally got a chance to tour the hitherto unseen 'superstation' under Block 37 in the central Loop — a grand space that is an equally grand testimony to the hubris of the latter years of former Mayor Richard M. Daley's administration," says Hinz. The station was conceived as a hub for express train service to Chicago's airports and as "a track link between the Blue and Red lines — the CTA's busiest — which otherwise do not converge." However, funding for the express train service never materialized.
"We the taxpayers spent well over $200 million on what amounts to one of the world's biggest unfinished basements. And it will only take another $150 million or so to be able to use it," notes Hinz. "That won't happen anytime soon."
FULL STORY: CTA reveals its Block 37 superstation
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research