CTA considering adding grocery stores at El stops

[BigSqwert]

Hallelujah!!! As someone who got rid of their car and moved near an El stop this would kick ass. And it's about time they started considering offering retail services at El stops such as dry cleaning.

 

The Chicago Transit Authority is hoping that some day you will pick up milk and bread or perhaps a six-pack of beer without ever stepping outside an "L" stop.

 

The CTA wants to investigate having some "L" trains stop inside supermarkets, or perhaps host mini-banks and restaurants on its property, as it seeks to more fully benefit commercially from its far-flung network of rail and bus routes.

 

"Right off the bat we are going to be looking at the idea of grocery stores right at train stations," said Jeff Ahmadian, deputy general counsel for the CTA.

 

"People could get off directly inside the grocery store and go shopping without ever going outside," he said.

 

Ahmadian identified the Red Line's Berwyn, Wilson and North/Clybourn stops as candidates for grocery stores. He said other "L" stops could also host supermarkets.

 

Several grocery chains are interested in the concept, said Ahmadian, who declined to identify them.

 

To get the concept rolling, the CTA on Wednesday hired real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle to help it assess transit property, as well as secure businesses for CTA stations and other transit-oriented development. Chicago-based JLL will be paid $4.2 million over five years to represent the CTA.

 

Agency officials talked of reaping as much as $100 million over the next five years from new commercial development. Currently it generates more than $6 million a year from retail concessions, Park & Ride lots and parking beneath "L" lines and other sources.

 

Jones Lang LaSalle will also look at ways of improving "the look and feel and cleanliness" of existing concessions, said Kurt Little, the firm's managing director.

 

The CTA also may have a significant asset in the air rights over its switching yards, tracks and stations.

 

One example is the transit authority's large switching yard at Midway Airport, which otherwise has little land available for development.

 

"You deck over it, you soundproof it, and you build on it," Little said. In Midway's instance, that could mean a hotel and offices.

 

Craig Bloomfield, an JLL spokesman, said the company also will inventory CTA real estate to determine what's not needed and can be sold.

 

The company will look at the small businesses that occupy many L stops, with the goal of attracting additional services for commuters such as dry cleaners.

 

"There is increasing realization that there is great opportunity for development in and around transit centers," said Bloomfield, who noted that the firm has another incentive to help commercialize CTA properties.

 

"We have 1,700 employees in Chicago, and most of them use the CTA to get to work," Bloomfield said.

 

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[southsider2k5]

It makes sense. Its a great link between business and transit.

[LosMediasBlancas]

A lot of the el stops already have the newspaper stand/convenient stores in them, no? That sounds like a huge project.

[The Critic]

I would hope the service at the grocery stores would be better than that of the

 

C an't

 

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[BigSqwert]

I think most train stops should have the following:

 

- a mailbox

- laptop kiosks with Internet connections (like at airports)

- one of those dvd rental kiosks

- dry cleaners

- cafe/coffee shop

- newspaper/convenience store (many already do but should be expanded to other stops)

- shoe shine stand

Edited July 17, 2008 by BigSqwert

[Jenksismyhero]

I think most train stops should have the following:

 

- a mailbox

- laptop kiosks with Internet connections (like at airports)

- one of those dvd rental kiosks

- dry cleaners

- cafe/coffee shop

- newspaper/convenience store (many already do but should be expanded to other stops)

- shoe shine stand

 

Sorta like the 25 MILLION dollar Buckingham Fountain renovation/remodel, I find this to be a gigantic waste of money. All the stops downtown already have a grocery store/convenience shop within a block, often times within 100 feet. There isn't much room on the brown or red line to add a grocery store, and we'd have to go through yet another construction project. I read in the paper that they were thinking the north/clybourn stop would be a good place. That's about the only one I could agree with because they already own the corner lot and it would just be a matter of building it on top of the subway, not creating a mess with tracks.

[NorthSideSox72]

Sorta like the 25 MILLION dollar Buckingham Fountain renovation/remodel, I find this to be a gigantic waste of money. All the stops downtown already have a grocery store/convenience shop within a block, often times within 100 feet. There isn't much room on the brown or red line to add a grocery store, and we'd have to go through yet another construction project. I read in the paper that they were thinking the north/clybourn stop would be a good place. That's about the only one I could agree with because they already own the corner lot and it would just be a matter of building it on top of the subway, not creating a mess with tracks.

I'd call it the opposite of a fountain renovation. A fountain doesn't generate revenue, nor does it help cut down driving and pollution, as this would. Its really nothing like it. You have to look at this as more of a business proposition. As such, the big worry is management - will the CTA be smart enough to have the stores run by private business?

 

[BigSqwert]

I'd call it the opposite of a fountain renovation. A fountain doesn't generate revenue, nor does it help cut down driving and pollution, as this would. Its really nothing like it. You have to look at this as more of a business proposition. As such, the big worry is management - will the CTA be smart enough to have the stores run by private business?

That's the big key.

[southsider2k5]

I think most train stops should have the following:

 

- a mailbox

- laptop kiosks with Internet connections (like at airports)

- one of those dvd rental kiosks

- dry cleaners

- cafe/coffee shop

- newspaper/convenience store (many already do but should be expanded to other stops)

- shoe shine stand

 

Maybe in the burbs, but in the City, there is no way that the stations could accomidate all of that stuff.

[Jenksismyhero]

I'd call it the opposite of a fountain renovation. A fountain doesn't generate revenue, nor does it help cut down driving and pollution, as this would. Its really nothing like it. You have to look at this as more of a business proposition. As such, the big worry is management - will the CTA be smart enough to have the stores run by private business?

 

The fountain brings in a lot of tourists, but regardless, I agree with your point.

 

I just don't trust the CTA to do anything right. They need to work on the crappy service they already provide instead of worrying about adding the option for riders to buy a candy bar at a 100 million dollar grocery store they build. Let's work on new trains, new tracks, better bus service - these are the issues they should be talking about, especially since ridership is just going to go up and up over the next few years.

[BigSqwert]

Maybe in the burbs, but in the City, there is no way that the stations could accomidate all of that stuff.

Most of the things on my list are pretty feasible IMO. A mailbox, dvd kiosk, and shoe shine stand wouldn't take up a large amount of space. I agree the other requests would be on a case by case depending on the size of the train stop and available land surrounding them.

[Dick Allen]

Its nice to be ambitious, but this is an agency that couldn't manage its money even when they spent very little on track maintainence and let the stations get so run down its scary. They have a cost overrun of over $100 million I heard on their Block 37 mega-station. Where are they going to get the money for these new plans? Anyone who uses the CTA like me has to laugh. Its painful trying to get anywhere in a timely fashion using their "service". They need to fix what they have before even thinking about any bigger ideas.

[NorthSideSox72]

The fountain brings in a lot of tourists, but regardless, I agree with your point.

 

I just don't trust the CTA to do anything right. They need to work on the crappy service they already provide instead of worrying about adding the option for riders to buy a candy bar at a 100 million dollar grocery store they build. Let's work on new trains, new tracks, better bus service - these are the issues they should be talking about, especially since ridership is just going to go up and up over the next few years.

I think the idea is that this will generate revenue to pay for those things. They don't want to wait for funding from the government. While I have significant worries about implementation, if CTA manages it, I do actually agree with the idea in principal.