(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — It’s something the CTA has never done before, and it’s getting plenty of attention in the Lake View neighborhood.
Work began several years ago to determine if the Vautravers Building, built over 120 years ago, could be moved as part of the CTA’s Red and Purple Line modernization project.
“In order to straighten out a curve that is currently in the tracks and slows down our trains, we need to move the Vautravers Building about 30 feet to the west,” CTA spokesperson Tammy Chase said Monday. “This is a rather unique aspect to this transit construction project.”
Chase said the CTA can feel all of the eyes that are on the moving process.
“The big question is when are we going to move the building? We get asked that a lot and there’s a lot of curiosity about that. Right now, the building move is scheduled for mid-August.”
Chase said preserving the history of the building, which is part of the Newport Historic District, is a top priority for the CTA, which purchased the property and will resell it after the relocation.
“In all, we expect the actual, physical move to occur over about one to two days,” she said. “Then, we complete the work roughly around September.”
Chase likened the preservation project to a celebration of history.
“That’s one of the best things about our city is our history and how we embrace it here,” she said.
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