(The Center Square) – A new Chicago Transit Authority train station has opened years late, at a taxpayer cost that surpassed initial projections by more than $30 million.
The Damen Green Line project was first announced in 2017, with a projected completion date sometime in 2020. The original taxpayer cost estimate was $50 million.
Mayor Brandon Johnson cut the ribbon at the new station on Monday. He said the surrounding area had been neglected.
“But this station that is an $80 million investment, is fully accessible, stunningly modern,” Johnson said.
Taxpayers paid more than $80 million for the station, with funding from the Kinzie Corridor Tax Increment Financing District.
Chicago Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. said he had been trying to get the station opened for three mayoral administrations.
“That’s why, people, you all need to make sure aldermen like me stay around for a long time. Because if we don’t get it done today, we’re gonna get it done sooner or later,” Burnett said.
The CTA previously had a station at the Damen Green Line location from 1893 to 1948.
The new station opened just in time for the Democratic National Convention.
CTA President Dorval Carter said the Damen station does more than fill a 1.5-mile gap between stops on the Green Line.
“It will help drive businesses and expand the customer base for businesses located in the Kinzie corridor. It will improve travel in the area by providing visitors with new means of getting to Bulls and Blackhawks games, concerts and other special events at the United Center, including the upcoming Democratic National Convention,” Carter said.
The DNC is scheduled from Aug. 19-22. The primary sites for the convention are the United Center and McCormick Place, both of which are now near Green Line stops.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new station was held Monday, following the four-day Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. Long delays were reported on several CTA lines during the event.
— Jim Talamonti, The Center Square
