Chicago Central Station, USA

Project Partner + The Fogelson Companies, Numbers: Veteran Chicago Develop- ers, & Forest City Enter- Last train leaving CS prises Inc. 1971 Demolition of CS Project Components 1974 80 acre residential commu- nity of multiple housing Start of Red’project options, including lofts, 1989 condominiums, town Start of Construction houses, and rentals adja- 1995 cent to the Museum Cam- Est’ed Completion pus and Lake Michigan ongoing Current Cost office, commercial, hotels, $ 3,000,000,000 retail developments Total size 320,000 m2 tree-lined boulevards, Population parks, and recreational > 5000 spaces

Sources: Google Earth 2009; www.centralstationsouthloop.com; www.1600museumpark.com; Fogelson 2003; Johnson 2002.

“The Future of the City is Here!” + Chicago Central Station was opened in Yet, in 1989 Gerald Fogelson – the foun- Resources: 1893 as the main passenger terminal for der and chairman of the Chicago based intercity trains and largest train shed in Fogelson Properties – purchased the va- Official website the world at the time. It was built, owned, cant rail yard from the Illinois Central www.centralstationsouthloop.c om and used by the Illinois Central Railroad Railroad and teamed up with Forest City to replace the Illinois Central Depot. Enterprises to head what would grow to www.1600museumpark.com However, after the founding of Amtrak – be a multi-billion dollar real estate com- Historic overview and plan- the United States National Railroad Pas- plex and the largest mixed-use develop- ning development senger Corporation – in 1971, more and ment in Chicago’s history. Johnson, Deborah 2002 “The more train were rerouted to Union Station New Face of Chicago’s South Moreover, in the early 1990s the city of which ultimately led to the closing of Slope” Urban Land. Chicago designated Central Station as a Central Station in 1972. Additionally, in Fogelson, Gerald W. 2003 tax increment financing (TIF) district 1973 Illinois Central relocated its offices Central Station: Realizing a which had a vital impact on the growth of from Central Station to the newly con- Vision. Chicago: Racom Com- the area. Since then, the original TIF dis- munications. structed Illinois Center. As a conse- trict has been expanded to include more quence, Central Station and its train shed Media coverage development in the South Loop. It cur- Manor, Robert & Bergen, were demolished one year thereafter rently funds the area’s infrastructure and Kathy 2008 “Huge project leaving only the commuter platform intact new public magnet school and a proposed over Metra railroad which continues to serve the Metra Elec- tracks near McCormick teacher’s academy on the Near South tric Line and Northern Indiana Commuter Place.” Chicago Tribune. Feb- Side. ruary 6, 2008 Transportation District’s South Shore Line. Today, Central Station hosts more than Diesenhouse, Susanne 2007 For nearly two decades, the Central Sta- 8,000 housing units from converted lofts, “Central Station developer not tion area and its railroad tracks became a deterred by soft sales cli- new town houses, mid-rises to high-rises vast parcel of abandoned land and air mate.” Chicago Tribune. Sep- and major retail development at a value tember 19, 2007. rights south of Chicago’s downtown. in excess of five billion dollars that serve Moreover, it was the only property not Handley, John 2006 “Looking several thousand residents. It developed included in the 1909 original master plan South. Construction in the a reputation as the city’s premier lake- South Loop is booming, but for the City of Chicago by Daniel Burn- front neighborhood apart from the sym- buyers are taking their time.” ham who assumed that the land would Chicago Tribune. July 9, 2006. bolic value and credibility added when always belong to the railroad. former Chicago Mayor Daley made Cen- tral Station his home too.

This project profile was developed by the German Research Foundation (DFG) Emmy Noether Research Project on “The Urban Renaissance Potential of Inner-City Rail Station Redevelopment Mega-Projects.” For additional information on the project: http://megaprojects.metropolitanstudies.de