O'Hare Airport Is Slated For A Multibillion-Dollar Remodel
By Mae Rice in News on Jul 15, 2016 6:23PM
O'Hare International Airport is getting a multibillion-dollar remodel, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Friday. The final plan for the upgrade won't be hashed out until next year, but here's what we know so far: Terminal 5 will be expanded by 25 percent, a $300 million project that's already underway; and Terminal 2 will be redeveloped into a new space at the center of the airport, which will make it easier for passengers to catch connecting flights. (For reference, here's a map of O'Hare.)
Local taxes won't figure into funding for this in any way, but it's unclear exactly who will fund these O'Hare renovations—part of an initiative to modernize O'Hare and prevent stuff like this that Rahm has dubbed "O'Hare 21." The O'Hare 21 project is a partnership between all kinds of entities: airlines; government agencies at the federal, state and local level; and "other business groups," a gently terrifying phrase. Since the state still barely has a budget, this will likely be paid for with a mix of private and federal funding, but we've reached out to the Mayor's Office for clarification and will update this post if we hear back.
One nice touch: The Chicago Department of Aviation will require all the contractors who bid on this project to take part in outreach events in Chicago’s underserved neighborhoods.
The Publican Tavern is also opening at O'Hare at the end of July, and Malort is now available in some areas of the airport, though Rahm did not focus on either of these pieces of amazing news in his announcement.