Journal & Topics Media Group

41st Ward Alderman Opposes Proposed Niles Metra Station

Napolitano Concerned About Traffic Congestion, ‘Booming’ Touhy Development

Map showing the location of a proposed Niles Metra station at Lehigh and Jarvis avenues serving the proposed Touhy Triangle development, shown at a Niles open house last month. (Tom Robb/Journal)

Niles village officials would like to build a Metra station at Lehigh and Jarvis avenues to serve a proposed 88-acre residential, retail and entertainment district called the Touhy Triangle. Chicago Ald. Anthony Napolitano (D-41st), whose ward borders the area, is opposed to the Metra station and concerned about the Touhy Triangle overall.

“I know it would be great for Niles, but how would it be for our residents?” Chris Vittorio, Napolitano’s chief of staff, said Monday. “It’s hard to comment on its entirety, but people moved to quaint, quiet areas (of the 41st Ward), that’s our concern. We understand economic development, but the concern of our residents is, they don’t want booming downtown type areas.”

After a feasibility study for the proposed Metra station was recently completed by consultants for the village, Niles officials hosted an open house Wednesday, Nov. 28 to discuss the overall Touhy Triangle project and proposed Metra station.

Any Metra station or major development of the Touhy Triangle remains at least five-to-10 years out, village officials said. The updated plan still needs Niles Village Board approval. Plans for a village built Metra station would also require Metra board and Regional Transportation Authority board review and approvals.  

Preliminary conceptual proposals for the development detailed at the open house, propose between 1,120 and 1,390 residential units in five-to-six story buildings, 81,500 square feet of retail — which would set aside 1-to-1.4 parking spaces per residential unit — along with an additional 550 commuter parking spaces and 20 short term parking spaces.

Several Chicago residents from areas bordering the development attended the open house expressing concerns about traffic and congestion.

At that open house, Niles Economic Development Coordinator Ross Klicker told the Journal of discussions with Napolitano about the project. He specifically spoke about collaboration the village and city of Chicago could make along Touhy Avenue, bordering the development, and that talks with Chicago were positive.

Klicker later said those discussions took place two years ago, before the Metra station was a concept.

The last public hearing took place when residents bordering the Touhy Triangle were formally notified of any activity related to the development in 2016, when the Gross Point Touhy Tax Increment Financing District was created.

At that point, a Touhy Triangle plan did envision an area with more of a focus on entertainment with restaurants, retail, light industrial uses and less residential than the proposal detailed at last month’s open house.  

Vittorio said Napolitano would support discussions and collaboration with the village on improvements to Touhy Avenue. Both Klicker and Vittorio acknowledge congestion along Touhy is a problem.  

Vittorio said adding a Metra station and redevelopment would add to area traffic congestion already heightened with the success of stores along Touhy such as Costco and Target. Those stores sit directly next to a small Chicago neighborhood north of Touhy, south of Gross Point Road and west of Lehigh Avenue. That area currently sees drivers cut through residential neighborhoods and park in residential neighborhoods. Vittorio said a major development would only make that worse.

Although Napolitano could weigh in on the proposed station with Metra and RTA board members, and would need to be involved in any changes to Touhy Avenue itself, Vittorio acknowledged Chicago has no jurisdiction to impact other aspects of Niles developments.

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