When it comes to big-ticket transportation projects, the federal government has been a pretty good partner for Chicago as of late.
The feds have agreed to shell out $2 billion to extend the CTA’s Red Line further south. And this month, federal transportation officials announced they are awarding $101 million to the region to improve rail access to Union Station.
So while the purse strings remain open, we’d like to see the federal government approve a grant request that would give Chicago the cash to buy the Greyhound bus terminal at 630 W. Harrison St.
Built in 1989, the facility was purchased from Greyhound last year by Twenty Lake Holdings, which now wants to sell the building for residential redevelopment.
“Chicago continues to explore solutions to maintain an intercity bus terminal … [including] identifying ways to support a potential acquisition of the existing terminal and assessing other location options,” a city Department of Transportation spokesperson said in a statement.
If the terminal is sold to private developers, Chicago would become the largest U.S. city without a main intercity bus terminal.
To buy the facility, CDOT is seeking a grant from the federal government’s Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program.
As the Sun-Times reported last June, the city-owned terminal would serve Greyhound and other bus lines, while alleviating congestion caused by curbside pickups and drop-offs from carriers that don’t have access to the current station.
The Greyhound facility is one of 33 terminals nationwide that were bought last year by Twenty Lake.
Bus terminals have been a vanishing breed for decades. In recent years, facilities in Oakland, Philadelphia and Louisville were shuttered, forcing riders to board and disembark buses in parking lots.
The move leaves riders — many of them taking advantage of the relatively low cost of bus travel — without a comfortable and enclosed spot to buy tickets, await buses or otherwise relax.
It’s wrong to treat passengers that way. And Chicago is right to seek options to keep this from happening here.
How much money is the city seeking under the grant? CDOT wouldn’t say. Sale of the Greyhound building could bring in $20 million, according to an official at real estate firm CBRE, which is marketing the site.
Greyhound forks over $1 million a year under its lease with Twenty Lake. Money like that could help the city better swing a deal to buy and own the terminal.
With 500,000 cross-county bus travelers arriving in Chicago each year, the need for a permanent facility is real.
A city-owned facility is the way to go.
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