Planning Programs and Projects

The plan was completed in August 2002. The RTA is currently funding an update to this study. Please visit www.rtams.org/rtams/planningStudy.jsp?id=313 for more information. In 2013 the Village of Glen Ellyn was awarded CMAQ program funds, via the RTA's Access to Transit Improvement Program for multi-modal access improvements to Pace Route 301, which was a recommendation made in the DuPage Area Transit Plan.

The original TOD study was updated by the City of Elmhurst in 2006 and continues to foster residential, commercial, and retail development in the downtown area. A six-story mixed use development is currently under construction at 100 N. Addison in downtown Elmhurst. This development has 11,000 square feet of first floor commercial space with 165 residential apartment units above the commercial spaces. This development is located adjacent to the Metra station in downtown Elmhurst. Estimated to be completed in 2019.

Elmhurst also secured grant funding to reconstruct its downtown Metra station. The work scope includes reconstruction of the inbound and outbound platform, a new pedestrian tunnel at York Street and designated bus and vehicle drop-off lanes to reduce localized vehicular congestion. This $18 million project is projected to begin in the summer of 2019.

In 2010, the City completed construction of a five-story, 253-space parking deck to serve downtown patrons and Metra commuters at First Street and Larch Avenue. In addition, a new parking deck with street-level commercial was built at Schiller Street and Palmer Drive as well as a traditional parking deck at Addison Road and Adelaide Street.

In 2016 the City opened a 6-story, 690-space parking deck at Addison Avenue and 2nd Street with ground-floor retail, serving downtown customers and employees. Elmhurst 255, a 188-unit residential rental project was completed in 2016, amenities include 12,000SF ground level retail and a public event plaza.

The study was completed in August 2001. The City incorporated design recommendations from the study, including a pedestrian ramp to the Davis Station. Mixed-use development has also been built adjacent to the east and north of the Davis St. Station.

The City was selected as part of the 2015 RTA Community Planning Program to explore ways to create a TOD Parking Policy throughout the City.

In May 2020 the Evanston City Council approved an 18-story, 210,000 sq. ft. office project to be located less than 1,000 feet from both the 'L' and Metra rail service, the first high-rise office building to be constructed in the city in 20 years.

This study was completed in September 2002. In 2009 the RTA funded an update to this study; please visit www.rtams.org/rtams/planningStudy.jsp?id=309 for more information.

The study was completed in August 2000. Per recommendations in the plan, Lake Forest Shuttle Bug route #625 was implemented along Route 60 in 2001 to connect HSBC employees in Mettawa to the Lake Forest Metra Stations on the UP-N and Milwaukee North lines. Also, Shuttle Bug Route #622/12 was implemented in 2000 to service Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Leica Microsystems in Lake Forest and Bannockburn, respectively, to connect to the Milwaukee North line in Deerfield.

The study was completed in October 2000 and in 2014 CMAP funded an update to this study with support from the RTA.

Additionally, the RTA coordinated with ULI to assemble a panel of developers on June 12, 2013 to solicit guidance, advice and input from the development community on TOD opportunities near the 211th Street Metra Station. This discussion focused on property adjacent to the Metra station in both Park Forest and Olympia Fields. A summary of this discussion can be found here: 211th Street Station.

The Village has been selected by the RTA to complete a TOD zoning code update as part of the 2016 Community Planning program. Work is now underway to create a more transit-supportive zoning code in the station area.

Orland Park constructed and opened a new Metra station at 143rd Street in April, 2007. Service was also doubled on the SW Service line at the same time and saw a 20% increase in ridership. The Village also updated their zoning ordinance to include transit-supportive regulations.

Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park, a 295-unit luxury apartment complex & commercial development built near the 143rd Street Metra station, broke ground in March 2012 and is now fully occupied.

In October 2014 the Residences of Orland Park Crossing, a 231‐unit rental apartment, rowhome and townhome development broke ground across the street from the 143rd Metra station at 143rd and La Grange Road and the first residential units have been delivered for occupancy. A Mariano's grocery store has also opened in the commercial area adjacent to this site.

In 2014, the University of Chicago announced that they will be developing a 120,000SF outpatient medical facility at the northwest corner of 143rd Street and LaGrange Road which opened in December 2016. In conjunction with this project, the Village constructed a parking structure at the northeast corner of 143rd Street and Ravinia Avenue which opened in October 2016. This project adds 520+ spaces on roughly two acres of currently vacant municipal-owned land and includes a 12,000 square foot restaurant space.

In March 2017 the next development for the station area was announced by the Village for the 1.6-acre, triangle-shaped property it owns just west of the Ninety 7 Fifty on the Park apartment building and south of the 143rd Street Metra station, which is a two story, 80,000 sq. ft. mixed used building. This newest development will be anchored by a luxury cinema on the second floor with first floor specialty retail and restaurant tenants.

Waukegan completed the Washington Street Commercial Corridor Plan with assistance from CMAP's Local Technical Assistance Program in 2015. The plan identify opportunities for economic development along a main artery of downtown Waukegan.

The study was completed in September 2000. Over the past 10 years, Westmont has built a new Village Hall & Police and Fire Department facility, a new Library, updated their Metra Station and built a new community park and fountain. Additionally, the Village installed new decorative streetscapes and a community sound system which provides background music and community announcements to enhance the pedestrian friendliness of the area.

Westmont was chosen as part of the 2012 RTA Community Planning Program of Projects to update their zoning regulations their TOD study area to include transit-supportive regulations. Although the TOD regulations developed during the project have yet to be adopted, the Village Board did adopt a new zoning map on March 15, 2018. The proposed regulations developed during this project continue to be used as guidelines for downtown projects in the Village.

In 2021, pre-leasing for residential units began for a five-story building at 1 West Quincy Street in Westmont. Located at the intersection of South Cass Avenue and West Quincy Street, this mixed-use, multi-family residential building will feature 94 residential units and a ground floor retail/commercial space. The project developer anticipates that construction will be completed in March 2022.

This project was completed in December 2004. After completing an Alternatives Analysis for the STAR Line in 2012, Metra chose not to continue to pursue the project due to a variety of factors.