Improvements planned for Cottage Grove station on CTA Green Line

The Cottage Grove station on the Green Line — minutes from the future home of the Obama Presidential Center — is set for a major facelift, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other city officials announced Monday.

“We are investing in the future of the CTA, and in the future of Woodlawn,” the mayor said in a statement. “Investments like this one strengthen communities, attract private investment and drive neighborhood growth.”

Expected improvements to the 63rd Street station include “architectural enhancements” and “significant enhancements to the elevated underpass, designed to “provide a safer, more comfortable environment for pedestrians,” according to the mayor’s office.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was joined by U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush for the announcement at the station Monday morning. Also there were CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. and Rebekah Scheinfeld, the city’s transportation commissioner.

The goal is to revitalize and renovate not just the station but the surrounding area, the mayor said. Emanuel touted ongoing commercial and residential projects near the station; among them is Woodlawn Station, a mixed-use development with 70 housing units and commercial space.

“We are investing in the future of the CTA, and in the future of Woodlawn,” said Emanuel. “Investments like this one strengthen communities, attract private investment and drive neighborhood growth.”

Improvements planned for the station include special lighting treatments outside. The station itself could get new canopies over the tracks, and a new stairway configuration.

“I am pleased that the historic CTA Green Line will get the attention it needs and deserves. Even as the Woodlawn community continues to enjoy a revitalization, its hardworking residents are deserving of a station that is attractive, modernized, and safe. I look forward to seeing these plans come to fruition,” Rush said.

The full scope and budget for the project is not yet clear. Details won’t be final until later this year.

The station is near the planned Obama center in Jackson Park. It is one of the oldest in the Chicago Transit Authority system. It was part of the elevated rail line that served the World’s Columbian Exposition. The original station was torn down and replaced with current station in 1991. According to the city, it serves more than 1,000 customers on an average weekday, with more than 372,000 riders in 2016.