DES PLAINES (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Des Plaines Village Board has approved the purchase of land next to Metra tracks that could be the start of new development.
The roughly 17,000-square-foot parcel of land is located on the north side of Oakton Street, east of Lee Street, along Metra's North Central Line.
Des Plaines has two Metra stations, both on the UP Northwest Line that ends at Chicago's Ogilvie Transportation Center.
A new station would have direct access to O'Hare International Airport and Union Station. It would also help with parking issues at the existing stations and encourage redevelopment in the Oakton corridor, the Daily Herald reported.
City Manager Mike Bartholomew said a train station there "will be a catalyst for investment and spur transit-oriented development along the Oakton corridor."
Some have envisioned a second downtown district near Oakton and Lee, complete with apartment buildings or other high-density housing developments, the Daily Herald reported.
The land cost roughly $190,000. It would be up to Metra to approve a new station at a cost of an estimated $10 million.
Related
