CHICAGO | The 78 Site

[TylerJ]

Hi everyone. I live near the 78 and am involved in lots of community groups. I had an idea for a transit line that would solve a ton of issues, assuming the sox/fire went to the 78 and the bears remain somewhere along the lakefront. I am curious what everyone thinks about this idea. Obviously any transit is nearly impossible to build but I think this idea solves enough issues that as a moon shot idea it could work. My thought is that a transit line that connects most of the metra lines, the stadiums, 90/94 and parking assets, the museum campus, mccormick place, and almost every CTA line would be hugely beneficial. Multiple large interest groups agreeing it is worthwhile could be enough of a catalyst to make it happen. Let me know you all's thoughts!



https://imgur.com/a/YxTDvc9

[ithakas]

I know we haven't seen any proposed plans, but I was wondering if the Chicago Fire's new stadium would fit east of Wells without reconfiguring it?

I imagine they're looking at the southern portion of the site as well – not sure if that's been reported either way...

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by TylerJ

Hi everyone. I live near the 78 and am involved in lots of community groups. I had an idea for a transit line that would solve a ton of issues, assuming the sox/fire went to the 78 and the bears remain somewhere along the lakefront. I am curious what everyone thinks about this idea. Obviously any transit is nearly impossible to build but I think this idea solves enough issues that as a moon shot idea it could work. My thought is that a transit line that connects most of the metra lines, the stadiums, 90/94 and parking assets, the museum campus, mccormick place, and almost every CTA line would be hugely beneficial. Multiple large interest groups agreeing it is worthwhile could be enough of a catalyst to make it happen. Let me know you all's thoughts!



https://imgur.com/a/YxTDvc9

I think there have been proposals for a light rail or BRT line like this before (that would also go up North to Navy Pier, basically a half loop around the loop). I think it'd be a good idea, maybe for electric bus BRT

[left of center]

You could even do a full Loop, with the buses then going down Michigan Ave from Navy Pier, and then Roosevelt to Soldier/McCormick, before double backing north back to westbound Roosevelt.

[ardecila]

Not a bad idea. I recall Mr Downtown posted something similar (RIP), but I can't find the image he posted.

[gebs]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Not a bad idea. I recall Mr Downtown posted something similar (RIP), but I can't find the image he posted.

Was it this?
CTA's Fabled Circle Line /reddit

[left of center]

Originally Posted by gebs

Was it this?
CTA's Fabled Circle Line /reddit

No thats a different idea (and one that I believe is sorely needed) to connect various L lines to each other. The Circle Line would primarily be heavy rail utilizing both elevated structures and subway tunnels.

This plan is more of a downtown distributor, connecting the major commuter rail stations with large venues in the downtown area, such as McCormick Place, Soldier Field, Navy Pier, etc. It would primarily be BRT with dedicated ROWs or surface light rail.

Both would be great. Neither is likely to happen anytime soon, however. I doubt the Trump administration will be doling out a lot of federal funds for transit anytime soon.

[clark wellington]

^Not that I disagree with you, but it is sort of a crazy thing. A BRT on that route should cost nothing - you're largely painting lanes. I think the fact that we assume (correctly) that it would be a major capital investment says a lot about why we don't have good transit in this country. A serious city would just do this without the feds

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by clark wellington

^Not that I disagree with you, but it is sort of a crazy thing. A BRT on that route should cost nothing - you're largely painting lanes. I think the fact that we assume (correctly) that it would be a major capital investment says a lot about why we don't have good transit in this country. A serious city would just do this without the feds

I'm no expert but BRT is much more than "painted lanes". Eg; raised curbside boarding where needed, Center Island boarding where possible, automated pre-boarding fare collection. Signalization synchronization, Vehicle lane reconfigure and closure. Inevitable utility relocation, replacement and upgrades. New storm drainage engineering and construction where applicable. And whenever you start digging in Chicago it involves all utilities. Storm drainage, water supply, cable and fiber optics, electrical supply and gas lines. And if your going through dense city streets you have supply lines for all the above to each building. And even then you still need all new way finding signage, and station shelters and signals and signage for ALL the intersecting streets, probably new light towers and traffic monitoring cameras and electronics...the list can go on

[ardecila]

^ Sure, but we could simply paint curbside BRT on Ashland in a matter of weeks with none of those frills, just as CDOT already did on Chicago Ave.

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ Sure, but we could simply paint curbside BRT on Ashland in a matter of weeks with none of those frills, just as CDOT already did on Chicago Ave.

After 15+ years of reading your extensive transpo content - I think I can detect e-sarcasm when I read it.

[clark wellington]

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

After 15+ years of reading your extensive transpo content - I think I can detect e-sarcasm when I read it.

I mean, I get it. But I do think the idea that it has to be full-scale BRT (tens of millions of $, years of planning) is always a barrier to doing this. Paint, actual barriers (e.g., the "armadillos" they use in Spain), TSP, curbside lanes, and cameras on buses to enforce could be sort of an MVP version to get something going. I realize it's not full-scale BRT, but if we say it costs $100M to set this up, we just won't get it.

[lakeshoredrive]

Exciting new development!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.co...ver-at-the-78/

[dreamy-developer]

Originally Posted by lakeshoredrive

Exciting new development!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.co...ver-at-the-78/

And let us be reminded that the owner Joe said that he plans to pay for every penny of that stadium compared to Reinsdorf who wants public funding. I think I have a feeling which pitched stadium has better odds of being approved of if you ask me.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by lakeshoredrive

Exciting new development!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.co...ver-at-the-78/

I hope the design improves, but very exciting news.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by sentinel

I hope the design improves, but very exciting news.

I hope so as well. The first iteration looks like it may suffer as only a slight upgrade on the faux-historic facade of Toyota Park.

Also, while the symmetrical wrap-around seating, typically in many of Europe's grand pitches, is the imitation template in the MLS, I think it would be a clear missed opportunity not to have the north stands at least partially open up to views of the skyline and the city.

I also can't help but think how the Sox never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, mostly due to being cheap. Maybe there is still room they could also build on the 78, but they have now missed numerous best last opportunities to build in the South Loop. This site has the potential to be good for the Fire, but it could have been spectacular for the Sox.

[2PRUROCKS!]

Great idea but the stadium design needs significant improvement.

[r18tdi]

WSJ picked this story up, too: Chicago Pro Soccer Club Revives Delayed Megaproject With $650 Million Stadium.

The blurb about United and JPMorgan looking at the site is noteworthy and not something I remember seeing confirmed on the record before:

Joe Mansueto, the team owner and founder of financial-data firm Morningstar, has agreed to spend $650 million to build the stadium.

“It would definitely slow down the process to have to engage with political leadership to secure financing,” he said.

Mansueto is resuscitating a megaproject that has suffered several misfires since lead developer Related acquired the land in 2016. It has been on hold while the developer searched for a prominent company to anchor the site.

Over the past decade, Related pursued Amazon, United Airlines, JPMorgan and casinos before switching gears to center it around a sports stadium. Even then, the hunt wasn’t over.

“We’ve gone through a litany of anchors,” said Related Midwest President Curt Bailey. “I was a young man when I started on this project.”

Another interesting bit:

The financing for the mixed-use components—which include affordable housing, a half-mile river walk, dining and shopping centers—hasn’t yet been secured. Mansueto said he is considering joining with Related on some of the mixed-use pieces but that they aren’t far enough along for him to commit.

“No one’s presented us with, ‘Hey, here’s a concept,’” said Mansueto.

[JK47]

Best part of the article is this quote, which is clearly throwing shade at other owners (especially local ones):

“It is my belief that these stadiums should be privately financed,” said Mansueto, who earned an MBA at the University of Chicago. “Most of the value accrues to the sports team. So it’s only fair that the sports team shoulders the cost of its construction.”

F-ing preach Joe.

[left of center]

Awesome news! Looks like the only funding from the city that Mansueto is looking for is infrastructure like roads and water/sewers, which is more than fair since these are public assets that will be owned and maintained by the city. The fact that he is going to pay for this project himself is not only the right thing to do for billionaire sports team owners (*cough* McCaskeys, Reinsdorf *cough*, but also means that this project will likely hit the ground a lot faster as well. The article states that the site is already zoned for a soccer stadium, meaning there will be minimal red tape from city hall as well.

Hopefully this kickstarts the 78 and we finally have more to show for it than the abandoned field we've been looking at for decades. I wonder if the new red line station will still be in play. With the smaller footprint that an MLS stadium will have compared to an NFL stadium, I imagine that the stadium will fit without having to remove/move the newly built Wells/Wentworth connector.

I imagine that Mansueto will probably want to own a lot of the land as well in order to earn money from rents/sport books/etc. during the off season. Not much talk about that in the article however.