Reconstruction of the Homewood station on Metra’s Electric Line will get underway in earnest in the coming weeks as the commuter rail line continues a capital program to invest in stations along the line, which serves the south suburbs and Chicago’s South Side.
Metra said this week its Metra Electric Community Initiative will also include renovations starting this year at stations at 79th, 87th, 95th and 103rd streets in Chicago. The work had previously been announced by Metra.
A May 11 formal groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for the Homewood $14.5 million station overhaul, at Harwood Avenue and Ridge Road, although preliminary work is underway. Work is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.
The work includes the construction of a new accessible east entrance, including a ramp, as well as renovation of the platform including a warming house, according to Metra.
A pedestrian tunnel running under the tracks is being rebuilt, and an elevator connecting the tunnel to the platform is being replaced, according to Metra.
On the east side of the station, off Harwood Avenue, a new Pace bus facility will be built including a covered waiting area, according to Metra.
Preliminary construction is underway, with the existing east entrance demolished and the pedestrian tunnel closed in March at the station’s east side.
The tunnel is open on the west side, off Park Avenue, and Pace relocated its stop temporarily to the west side, for the duration of construction.
“Initially, people were surprised” when the east access to the tunnel closed, Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld said Wednesday. “They’ve (riders) all become accustomed to it now.”
Work on the Metra station was coordinated with Amtrak’s $15 million renovation of its station on Park Avenue, which was recently completed.
Built in 1923 as part of the Illinois Central Railroad system, the Amtrak station is on the state’s Register of Historic Places.
Last year, Homewood agreed to pay $500,000 for a property at the northeast corner of Harwood and Ridge Road, with possible future uses including apartments. Just steps from the Metra station, the village eyes redevelopment, although rising interest rates are postponing any plans, Hofeld said.
Possible buyers and redevelopers are waiting to see where interest rates and borrowing costs are headed before committing to the property, he said.
“These rates won’t last forever,” Hofeld said.
It’s part of a broader effort by Homewood to encourage residential development near the train stations.
An example is The Hartford, just to the east of the Metra station on Ridge Road, which is a four-story building that will contain 36 apartments and a restaurant on the ground floor.
In announcing its capital construction schedule for this year, Metra said that projects getting underway include rebuilding the Electric Line stop at 95th Street near Chicago State University.
Currently a flag stop, the renovated station will operate as a full station at which all trains will make scheduled stops, according to Metra. The station will also include a Park-and-Ride area that will contain a minimum of 119 parking spaces, to be located on the university’s campus near the station at 95th and Cottage Grove.
This year’s project list also includes a renovation of the 103rd station, which will include a new platform and accessible street-level entrances, according to Metra.
The Electric Line initiative also saw construction starting last year at the 147th Street/Sibley Boulevard station in Harvey. Metra expects to begin renovation next year on another Harvey station, at Park Avenue and 154th Street.
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