The new Metra station in Morton Grove has opened to commuters, but village officials say additional improvements at the site are not expected to be fully completed until spring.
Morton Grove Village Administrator Chuck Meyer told Pioneer Press that the Metra station, at 8501 Lehigh Ave., opened on Dec. 15. The station stop is on the commuter rail station’s Milwaukee District North line.
“With the weather, we wanted to button up the site for early winter but also make it available for the public,” Meyer said. “We have a full, functional station. We’ve heard a lot of positive comments.”
Work on the new train station will continue through winter.
“Over the winter, we’re going to be dismantling the former train station and installing additional utility lines for the new station or some additional support structures of the new station and then expanding the parking lot into what used to be the old train station,” Meyer said.
Work slated for spring includes adding another layer of asphalt to the parking lot and doing some final work on the aesthetics while Metra will do platform work, which Meyer said will fully connect the platform to the new station.
Morton Grove is the first suburban stop on the line, which runs from Union Station in downtown Chicago to the far north suburb of Fox Lake.
“It was a big deal for us to show the community and show the Chicagoland region and put our best foot forward,” Meyer said about redoing the Morton Grove station. “We thought the time was right to make this improvement and we’re fortunate enough to be able to design it and construct it.”
Previously located just south of the new one, the former building at the station offered a couple of uses before it was demolished.
“Our fire department used it for training in the interim. We were able to use that for on-the-job training with our firefighters,” Meyer said. “We actually got some work safety training out of it as well.”
Meyer said the village announced intentions to replace its lone Metra station in July 2023.
According to Meyer, the budget for the project is just over $4 million, which is being covered by a $300,000 grant from Metra, $500,000 in Illinois funding and money from the village’s Lincoln/Lehigh tax increment financing district.
“We’ve restored a majority of the parking on-site so there is a brand new facility that allows people to wait for the train and to have some nice updates,” Meyer said.
The updates include tracking signs that Meyer said offer real-time arrival information and announcements.
“If you’re in the station or anywhere near the station, you’ll know when the trains are coming,” he Meyer said.
In an October 2024 news release announcing the Metra station groundbreaking, village officials said the former station was built in 1976 and project phasing for the new 1,280-square-foot one was designed to maintain uninterrupted Metra service through all construction phases.
“It’s really going to be a welcome to the community,” Meyer said. “Our former station was a single-floor building. This (new one) is a two-story building that really catches the eye. It is beautifully constructed.”
The team working on the new station includes Lake Forest-based project architect RM Swanson Architects and Libertyville-based general contractor Efraim Carlson and Son Inc., according to the release.
“There’s some very nice artistic features to it, so it’s a nice wood design inside,” Meyer said about the new station. “(It) has a clock tower as part of a feature, but it’s also a much more welcoming environment and is one that I think is a nice place to wait for a train.”
Rider amenities include covered outdoor waiting areas, a heated waiting area that will be open after-hours, a unisex restroom and accommodations for ticket vending machines throughout, the release explains.
There is also the possibility for future retail.
“In the north end of it, we have built out a space that we’ll be looking to issue a request for proposal for potential vendors that might potentially want to have a shop in there as well,” Meyer said.
According to Meyer, the new Metra station already has affected development of its surrounding area.
“Just south of that is a townhome development called Metro on Main,” Meyer said about a project by Lexington Homes. “It’s 89 townhomes that started being built after we announced the train station. A selling point for them is having the proximity to the trains and train station.”
Meyer said the village is also looking forward to improving the property it owns right across the street from the commuter station.
“We did a request for proposal and are working on a developer for a multifamily unit to go across the street,” the village administrator said. “I know they have emphasized the new train station as a drawing point.”
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.
