Will Elmhurst 'Kill' Planned Train Station?

ELMHURST, IL – Delayed for years, the fate of Elmhurst's Metra train station project is uncertain.

Officials have expressed their doubts before about whether the $47.3 million project would happen. They renewed that speculation at Monday's City Council meeting.

"Where would we kill the train station to put it nicely?" Alderman Rex Irby asked during a budget discussion.

If the city got to that point, Mayor Scott Levin said officials would have to decide whether to give back the grant money for the project or settle on a smaller job.

"We might do something lesser if the granting body allowed us," Levin said. "But I think it's been our process to kind of carry forward the funds from year to year as we're planning it."

Now, he said, the project remains active.

"It doesn't mean it's a sure thing, but you had better have it in the budget if you're going to do it," the mayor said.

Irby compared his question to "throwing spaghetti" on the wall.

His question followed comments from Alderwoman Noel Talluto, who said the train station project has been "floating out there for so long." She asked how much the city would contribute.

In response, City Manager Jim Grabowski said the city's portion of the cost is estimated at $10 million to $12 million.

The city's capital budget indicates construction would start next spring. That doesn't align with other projections. In August, the city told Patch that officials hope to receive bids next June.

At the time, the city said it continues to work with Union Pacific and Metra for property acquisition and lease terms.

The project's estimated cost has escalated over the last five years. In mid-2020, it was estimated at $25 million.

Grants from the federal government and other entities are expected to cover three-fourths of the costs.

The city has said it would go into debt and pay back the money from a downtown tax increment financing district, or TIF.

The station project is expected to include warming shelters, a pedestrian tunnel, a platform reconstruction and surface parking improvements.

The current station, which is considered undersized for its ridership, is the fourth busiest in the Metra system. It was built in the 1960s and updated in the 1980s.