CTA solicits public input on TOD plans near Red Line

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will host a public meeting on Nov. 8 to discuss transit-oriented development plans near the Red Line.

The agency is working on redevelopment concepts for properties near the line after the first phase of the Red and Purple Line modernization program wraps up.

At the meeting, CTA officials will present information about the proposed transit-oriented development (TOD) plan. Residents will be able to review area planning principles, consider redevelopment site concepts and offer comments.

Announced in 2014, the first phase of the modernization program calls for rebuilding the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr rail stations, as well as more than a mile of adjacent tracks and track structure.

The initial phase also includes construction of a Red-Purple bypass where Red, Brown and Purple lines intersect north of the Belmont Station. The bypass is aimed at improving reliability and increasing capacity in the CTA's busiest rail corridor, agency officials said in a press release.

CTA will acquire a limited number of properties near the construction site. Some of those properties will be available for development when the project is finished.

The CTA in 2015 received $1.25 million from the FTA through its pilot program for transit-oriented development.

Major construction work is slated to begin in 2019 and is expected to last four to five years.