Planning Programs and Projects

The plan was accepted by the Village of Schaumburg Village Board on December 13, 2011. Since that time, the Village has taken several actions to implement the plan and improve transit service. Schaumburg worked with Pace to reroute the Woodfield Trolley (Route 905) to better serve riders and revised the funding formula to create savings that allowed an increase in service. Additionally, Pace Route 602, a Metra feeder service, was reroute to more densely populated areas in the hope of increasing ridership. This change went into effect in September of 2016. The Village has also made changes to its Dial-A-Ride Transportation that include additional service and greater availability of subscription service.

The Village also worked with Pace and members of the local business community as part of Pace's I-90 Market Expansion Program to consider improvements to local transit service. This resulted in several new routes (604, 607, 608, 611) and a service expansion on one existing route (600) that provide connections to Schaumburg.

The study was completed in June, 2010. In July of 2011, an RFP was released and proposals sought for the Southwest Will TMA Implementation and Travel Demand Study by the Joliet Arsenal Development Study and the City of Joliet. A committee consisting of JADA, Will County, Will County Governmental League, Will County Center for Economic Development and the City of Joliet selected Ruettiger & Tonelli / AECOM after the interview process. The project commenced in the summer of 2013.

Construction completed in 2020 of Foxford Station, a 28 unit condominium development with 3,800 square feet of ground-floor commercial space at Wolf Road and Burlington, across the street from the Metra station.

A developer plans to break ground in the fall of 2022 on a 10-unit condominium development on Hillgrove Ave., between Franklin and Howard Avenues.

The RTA will continue to monitor progress and offer assistance as needed.

In 2011, a CMAP-led Value Capture study looked at potential funding mechanisms and innovative financing techniques to identify ways for the Village to fund the parking deck recommended in the TOD plan. The Executive Summary of this study can be found here.

The Village of Wilmette was chosen as part of the 2011 RTA Community Program of Projects to update their Village Center Parking Regulations. This project began in the 4th Quarter of 2011 and the new TOD parking regulations took effect April 1, 2014.  
In September of 2014 the Village announced the sale of a property at 611 Green Bay Road to a developer. A five-story mixed-use project that includes 75 apartments is opening in summer of 2017.

In May of 2018 Wilmette was awarded grant funding from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) to improve pedestrian infrastructure in its downtown according to plan recommendations. In addition to aesthetic improvements, such as landscaping and decorative paving, there are a number of pedestrian safety improvements like curb bumpouts and speed tables, as well as bike parking throughout the downtown.

In November of 2020 the Village of Wilmette gave final approval to a developer to construct a mixed-use building across from the Metra station at 1210 Central Avenue. There will be 109 apartments, ground floor commercial space, and 173 car parking spaces.

This project was completed in July 2010. The plan was presented to and accepted by the Village of Addison Village Board on July 6, 2010. The Village is currently exploring funding options to install bus shelters along Lake Street at key Pace bus stops as recommended in the plan.

The plan was adopted by the City Council in November 2009. The plan recommends locating the station near the existing 17th Street Crossing and closing the 17th Street Crossing to provide for safe access to the station. Redevelopment of the area around the station includes mixed-use and condo and townhouse style housing.

In 2010, Metra completed the Alternatives Analysis for the proposed SouthEast Service Line and on March 7, 2011, then Governor Quinn signed into law House Bill 1644 which established the Southeast Commuter Rail Transit District which now has authority to acquire rights to use the freight rail line, buy land to build train stations and purchase rail cars. However, in 2015 Metra put a hold on further development of the line due to limited funding resources.

The new Cermak-McCormick Place Green Line Station, funded with $50 million in City TIF funds, opened for service in February 2015. A new entertainment district between McCormick Place and the station has been developing since 2015, including the new Wintrust Arena and four new hotels, three of which provide a connection via a skybridge to McCormick Place's west building.

A 24-story, 275-unit building in the McCormick Square area and one block from the station wasa completed in 2020 and the same developer is seeking zoning approval to construct a 12-story apartment building immediately south of it, at Wabash and Cermak.

The Chicago Housing Authority has engaged a developer to redevelop the site of the former Harold Icks Homes at State and Cermak, directly across State Street from the green line station. The new development, named Southbridge, will be mixed-income, mixed-use and will include retail space as well as up to 900 rental and for-sale housing units. Phase I, which includes two mixed-use residential buildings, was completed in 2022.