Chicago Union Station Renovation is Going to Mean Big Things for Surrounding Real Estate

Most commuters in Chicago (as well as most travelers who have passed through the Windy City by train) have love-hate relationship with our Union Station. If you fall into this category, you’ll be thrilled to know that the 91-year-old Chicago Union Station will be getting a much-needed facelift, thanks to $12 million from Amtrak and the support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Renovating Union Station has been one of his top priorities and he has been working to arrange the financing for the project, which he described as a complete overhaul that will require a $500 million investment over the span of multiple years. Many believe that reviving Union Station could further catalyze real estate growth in surrounding areas – very exciting for anyone who owns a home or business in the West Loop.
Union Station serves approximately 120,000 passengers daily, making it the third busiest rail terminal in the United States. The constant traffic in the station, paired with the growth of the city, has undoubtedly worn down the station, and most would say that is simply lacks the ability to accommodate its present-day volume of passengers. The planned improvements are intended to create a more comfortable and passenger-friendly station. Here’s how they plan to do it:

Redesigning the Layout of Chicago’s Union Station

One of the top priorities in the renovation is to create more open space in hopes of reducing congestion in the often-overcrowded concourse by the Amtrak trains. They plan to move the Metropolitan Lounge, which is for business-class and sleeping car passengers, as well as ticketing to the head house. This, in conjunction with the elimination of the outdated baggage platforms, will clear a wide north-south corridor for travelers and allow for more spacious street level entrances. Other improvements include replacing the worn-down marble on the iconic steps leading to the Great Hall, replacing door systems for better insulation against the cold, improved ventilation systems, and important façade work to prevent seeping water in the 91-year-old Indiana limestone that coats the building. Elevators from street level to the Great Hall are planned to be built by the end of 2017, if funding can be secured.

Preserving the Spirit of a Major Chicago Landmark

Beneath the crowded concourse and the dirty platforms that many commuters complain about Union Station, and its Great Hall on the east side of the building, is still a work of art. On the south side of Union Station’s historic headhouse, located along Canal Street, you will find the staircase leading from street level to the soaring waiting room known as the Great Hall. The stairs are made of marble with two landings in between, bronze handrails, and ornate posts. It leads to the monumental columns that gate the barrel-vaulted waiting room, with a palatial ceiling and grandiose chandeliers hanging above. This staircase is not only known for its beauty, but for its appearance in the 1987 film “The Untouchables” when it was the backdrop for an epic gun battle between good guy Eliot ness, played by Kevin Costner, and Al Capone’s henchmen. Amtrak has received an historic preservation award for work already completed at Union Station, which includes restoration of the famous staircase.

Creating a Space That Serves As More Than a Simple Hub for Transportation

Recently, the station celebrated the reopening of the former Women’s Lounge, a beautifully restored, vaulted-ceiling room with ornate architectural detail that has been transformed into an event space. It has been renamed the Burlington Room in honor of a rail company whose tracks ran throughout the Midwest. It’s another small step on the long, slow journey of bringing the 91-year old Union Station into the 21st century. If you are in the business of event planning or hope to host an event of your own, expect to see Union Station on the shortlist for top venues in Chicago.
Do you hope to buy or sell property in the West Loop or surrounding neighborhoods over the next several months? Contact me to learn how the Union Station reno will impact your transaction.