Quote:
Originally Posted by maru2501
when Damen opens I am hopeful the money will grow too large for the lot owners to ignore
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It's a complicated situation. The United Center organization owns most of the parking lots itself. There are a handful of lots just beyond the official stadium lots - some actively used for event parking, others just sit unused - that are owned by private parking companies or the City. And some of the city-owned lots are
operated by those same parking companies.
It's all a huge mess of sweetheart deals and politically-connected business owners who see nothing wrong with an entire swath of the city given over to parking lots. A few years ago Emanuel at least tried to stop those business owners from continuing to use the city-owned lots, but he can't do much about the privately-owned lots. The United Center organization, for its part, sees some value in building an entertainment district around the stadium but recognizes that most of their visitors will still drive in from the suburbs, so any reduction in parking is a dealbreaker.
Basically everybody is saying the same things right now... the city needs to do its part to improve CTA access and possibly grant a TIF subsidy to cover the cost of parking garages, and then the United Center owners are happy to explore redevelopment options. The Malcolm X College garage was the first part of this, the Damen L stop is the second part. Building on the Green Line has the advantage of connecting to Oak Park on one end, which has a growing supply of commuter parking, and Metra Ogilvie on the other end. If a significant number of suburban sports fans ride Metra to CTA to Wrigley Field, they'd probably do the same for the United Center. But then again, the Cubs play a lot of day games and Wrigley Field patrons have a whole neighborhood fo bars and restaurants to visit before and after the game. The Bulls/Hawks play almost entirely at night, and there's nothing around the stadium. Kind of a chicken/egg situation.
Of course, complicating this is the local church leaders and Alderman Burnett, who don't want to see ANY new drinking establishments in the area if it gets redeveloped. That's why the retail space at Damen/Warren is still vacant.