CHICAGO—(ENEWSPF)—February 5, 2018
By: Rosemary Piser
Today, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. announced the completion of the $203 million Wilson Station Reconstruction Project. The project has entirely transformed a nearly 100-year-old station in Uptown into a modern rail station and centerpiece for the community, stimulating economic development and creating hundreds of new jobs.
Mayor Emanuel said today, “The Wilson Station Reconstruction Project will create better service for CTA customers and greater economic opportunities for the Uptown community. In neighborhoods across the city, we are reconstructing the CTA with unprecedented investments and reshaping it to meet the needs of a world-class transit system.”
The Wilson Station, which is part of the Mayor’s “Red Ahead” initiative, has a modern design and provides a comfortable, convenient commuting experience for customers. The station is also now fully accessible to customers with disabilities. Additionally, the project created more than 550 construction jobs.
The final milestone of this project, which began in 2014, is the completion of the restoration of the historic Gerber building at Broadway and Wilson, which was built in 1923.
Designed by architect Arthur Gerber, the building had served as the station’s main entrance for decades. CTA completely repaired and faithfully restored the station’s exterior and recreated its historic clock and parapet wall, which had been removed decades ago. The revitalized Gerber Building will serve as commercial space for the Uptown community. The CTA is currently seeking a tenant for the space.
CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said, “The new Wilson station will provide an improved commuting experience for the more than 1.7 million people who use the station each year, and is an example of what our upcoming Red and Purple Modernization Program will do for other stations along the Red Line. We thank the Uptown community for their support of this project and for their patience during construction, and we look forward to serving local residents and visitors in and to this vibrant neighborhood.”
Alderman James Cappleman said, “We are seeing a tremendous, positive impact on the Uptown community because of this newly rebuilt station. We continue to see new businesses, jobs and development planned or occurring now as a result of this new station, which has contributed to the excitement about the future of this community.”
Features of the new station include:
- Replaced outdated station with a spacious, light-filled and attractive station with Red-Purple Line transfer point; three entrances; escalators and elevators; security cameras; and real-time Train and Bus Tracker
- Large platforms and architectural glass platform canopies that provide greater weather protection
- New artwork in the main stationhouse from world-renowned artist, designer & engineer Cecil Balmond
- New, quieter track structure that replaces century-old structure that was more than 100 years old and removes unsightly structural columns from Broadway Avenue to improve traffic sightlines and street-level pedestrian environment.
To learn more about the Wilson station, visit transitchicago.com/Wilson.
Source: www.cityofchicato.org
