Elmhurst's New Metra Station Slipped to 2027 Again. What the City's Own Budget Says Is Holding It Up

Elmhurst's proposed 2027 budget, dated October 9, puts $23.7 million toward starting construction on a new Metra station next year. The same paragraph says the project "had been budgeted to begin in 2026; however, project coordination with the railroad has delayed the start of the project."

The station at York Street and First Street keeps slipping because the work has to be coordinated with the railroad. Funding is not the obstacle. For people who board at York and First, that changes what the 2027 date is worth.

The Dates Elmhurst Has Already Been Given

The rebuild has carried a target year for most of a decade. Each target has been replaced by a later one.

In August, Patch reported that the bids the city had hoped to receive in June never came in. Patch also reported that the city expected to finish the second phase of engineering by December, with the third phase of engineering and construction to follow in 2027 and 2028. Elected officials have openly asked whether the project would happen at all, at budget discussions in 2024 and again the following year, according to the same report.

The Money Is Mostly in Place

The total cost is the first thing people ask about, and it is the least likely reason for the delays.

The estimate is $47.4 million. According to Patch, that is nearly double the $25 million estimate from six years ago, and it has stayed at $47.4 million for about two years. If it had risen with inflation, Patch calculated, it would be about $50.3 million. Asked whether the number needed updating, interim city manager Kent Johnson called it the "best estimate at this point." Finance Director Christina Coyle said, "the next step in the process is really for the project to go out to bid and see what those bids come back at."

The October budget shows how that $47.4 million would be covered:

• $35.1 million from federal and transit grants, about 74 percent of the total
• $6 million in general obligation bonds in 2027 and another $6 million in 2028
• Bond repayment from tax increment in the city's Downtown TIF district

The grants and the $12 million in planned bonds together come very close to the full estimate. That district is officially named the Downtown City Centre Redevelopment Project Area, or TIF 6. The city's TIF page lists it as created in 2018 and expiring in 2041. The bonds would come out of downtown tax growth that is set aside by design, so the city's general budget does not carry them.

The station also takes up a large share of next year's capital spending. Elmhurst plans $65 million in capital projects for 2027, down from $140.9 million this year. The station's $23.7 million is more than a third of that.

Why the Railroad Sets the Pace

If the money is mostly lined up, the schedule depends on the railroad. The city's earliest procurement documents show why.

The 2018 request for qualifications says Union Pacific would lead platform reconstruction, with design and construction coordinated among the city, Metra and Union Pacific. The same document puts the proposed accessible pedestrian underpass west of York Street. New platforms and a tunnel under active tracks can't be built by the city alone. The parts commuters would notice most depend on the railroad, and the October budget gives that coordination as the reason 2026 became 2027.

The budget's debt section is even more careful. It includes the $6 million bond issues for 2027 and 2028 "should the Metra Train Station project advance." The city's own financial plan treats 2027 as conditional.

This is still a proposed budget. As of late October, the city's bid opportunities page lists work such as the Schiller-Palmer Parking Structure 2026 maintenance repairs, which opened for bids September 1, and a fire training tower building, which opened October 16. No station construction bid is listed. Coyle called going out to bid the next step. Construction will be near when a station construction bid shows up on that page.

What the Finished Station Is Supposed to Include

The October budget calls the project "a comprehensive rehabilitation of the station campus." It lists:

1. Reconstruction of the existing station
2. Additional warming shelters
3. A new pedestrian underpass
4. New platforms
5. Bike parking and other site improvements

The July 2021 council presentation gave more detail. It showed an inbound station building with waiting areas, accessible restrooms and vendor space. It also showed an outbound waiting area connected to the existing tunnel and two warming shelters east of the station buildings. That presentation is five years old, so the final design may be different.

The case for rebuilding hasn't changed. Patch describes the current station as the fourth busiest in the Metra system and undersized for its ridership. It was built in the 1960s and updated in the 1980s. The 2021 council presentation counted 2,540 weekday boardings in 2018.

What Commuters Can Count On This Winter

Until a bid goes out, the station you use this winter is the one you have now. Metra's Elmhurst station page lists it at 128 W. 1st St. at York Road on the UP-West line. Inbound trains normally use Platform 1 and outbound trains use Platform 2. Metra counts 25 parking lots with 1,487 spaces. Of those, 976 are daily-only and 23 are ADA spaces.

The city's parking page sets daily parking at $3 for the day. Reserved permits cost $55 a month, $155 a quarter or $600 a year. At those prices, an annual permit costs $600 and a quarterly permit bought four times costs $620. Daily parking at $3 adds up to $600 after 200 workdays. Commuters who ride three or four days a week will usually spend less paying daily.

The city has not published a current construction staging plan, and nothing official yet says which parking lots would close. The best preview is still the 2017 draft Phase I report. It said local street closures would be needed and that First Street "may need to be closed between Cottage Hill and York" to build the new depot and the pedestrian underpass. It named Park Avenue, one block south, or Adelaide Street, two blocks south, as possible detour routes. It also said pedestrian access to the platforms for boarding and alighting "will need to be maintain[ed]" during construction. That report is nine years old, so the staging plan in the construction contract may differ.

Phase II engineering is due to finish in December. Going out to bid comes after that, and the timing depends on the city and the railroad reaching agreement. The 2027 bonds are planned only if the project advances.

If you own near downtown Elmhurst or are thinking about a home within walking distance of York and First, the station schedule affects how buyers see your street. Wardlow Group follows these city decisions closely and can show you how they factor into a home's value today. If you're weighing a move on either side of the tracks, ask us for a free home valuation.