Rahm Says No Thompson Center Sale Without Assurances For The CTA Hub

By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 3, 2017 3:23PM

As the state weighs whether to sell the aging but architecturally-significant Thompson Center, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing for some assurances that Chicago won't be financially responsible for what happens to the center's adjacent CTA station.

The Clark and Lake station serves Green, Brown, Pink, Orange, Purple and Blue Line trains and is among the busiest CTA stations as a result. Emanuel said at an unrelated event Tuesday that he is concerned about who exactly will be on the hook to maintain or renovate the station if the Thompson Center, which is currently used as a state office building and food court, is sold and redeveloped. He says it should be up to either the state or the new developer/owner, not Chicago taxpayers.

"We have one of the busiest 'L' stations in the entire network of 140-plus 'L' stations," Emanuel said, according to the Tribune. "If you sell it and it has to come down, who builds it? Who takes the cost? I'm not going to stick that on Chicago taxpayers. The developer or the state has to do it. Yes, the state gets to book the money when they sell, but who's going to build or rebuild that station? I think I'm responsible to make sure it's not—that tab is not on the Chicago taxpayers."

Emanuel also estimated that it would cost between $80 and 120 million to replace the station, if it comes to that. A spokeswoman for the governor's office told the Tribune that the state "wants to partner with the city" for redeveloping the entire site "to better serve residents," and noted that a new, private development at the downtown location could bring the city millions of dollars in property tax revenue.