Chicago moves to buy, renovate $50 million Greyhound station
The City of Chicago is taking steps to buy Chicago's Greyhound bus station.
The Greyhound terminal on Harrison Street made headlines in the summer of 2024 when it was in imminent danger of shutting down.
A midnight hour offer by the property owner allowed greyhound and other bus companies to continue their leases. That solution was only temporary.
It appears the city is now making moves for a permanent bus station, owned by Chicago, involving millions of dollars in tax money.
Leaders from the department of planning and development held a public meeting last week. Their pitch includes expanding the Canal/Congress TIF District to include the bus station on Harrison Street.
That would allow Chicago to buy and renovate the terminal using property tax money put in a special pot for economic development.
Alderman Bill Conway told CBS News Chicago the planning and development commission estimates this idea would cost about $50 million. This would include $19 million to buy the station and $31 million to renovate.
"There has been a lot of discussion about how many department heads and agency heads are not filled within the City of Chicago now, and so adding another management responsibility with so many senior leadership vacancies gives me a bit of pause," Conway said. "If we, the city, take it over, we need to have an idea of how we're going to handle those persistent public safety challenges. I am also concerned about the Mayor's ability to really get a deal done in this area."
DePaul University's Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development already created a few sketches of what a city-owned bus station could look like. Signage promoting Chicago are key to this design, as well as a climate-controlled waiting area and better wheelchair access.
Their report notes half a million people use the station each year. Researchers envision expanded bus service if the city takes over the property, including connections to Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Toronto.
City Council still needs to OK all of this, and it looks like the earliest that might happen is in May.
DePaul researchers say if Chicago loses bus service because of a leasing issue, it would be one of only three major cities in the world without a permanent bus depot.
At last check, Greyhound was operating on a month-to-month lease in the city.
CBS News Chicago reached out to Mayor Brandon Johnson's office for more information about the purchasing plan.