Retail additions coming to Millenium Park terminal...

Or Randolph St. if you prefer...


Stores set to open in Millennium Station

April 22, 2006

CHICAGO -- South Shore and Electric Line riders will soon be able to pick up
flowers, ice cream or some chocolates at Millennium Station at Randolph
Street. Retail outlets are expected to begin opening their doors next month,
officials said Friday.

A firm Metra hired to manage the property has signed leases with three
stores--Millennium News, City Scents florist and Sweet Tooth Cafe--giving
commuters the most shopping options they've had in the underground station
in a decade. The new retail outlets could open as soon as the end of May,
according to a property manager for Beitler Co., which Metra hired last year
to manage the station and lease 16,000 square feet of retail space.

Beitler Co. also has letters of intent from a brand name coffee retailer,
Cinnabon cinnamon roll store and Subway sandwich shop, Metra Executive
Director Philip Pagano told the agency's board Friday. Negotiations are
under way with Bath & Body Works, Chase Bank and a video and game rental
store, he added.

The opening of retail outlets is the final step in the $22 million,
delayed-plagued rehabilitation of the facility, which used to be known as
the Randolph Street Station. Pagano said the leases are exceeding Metra's
expectations and could generate $250,000 for the agency this year, $44,000
more than Metra officials expected.


Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

Good for them, but why couldn't we just name the place Central Station? Millenium Park is so touristy, and if nobody has noticed, the millenium is already here. So are we naming the station in honor of a date that unceremoniously passed, of in honor of the millenium change that will happen in 3000? And by that time, will CSS still be 1500v DC or will it change to PRR/NH AC electrification?

I think it would actually be preferable for them not to name it "Central Station" because the old IC's Central Station was a different station entirely. If people started referring to taking Metra to "Central Station," out-of-towners would respond with "Didn't they tear that down?" and confused-looking facial expressions would ensue. As far as I know, the terminal where the Electric District and South Shore trains have terminated has always, until recently, been called Randolph Street Station.

I actually started to call it "Randolph St. station" when I initially posted this, but I guess my desire to be proper got the best of me, even though I still refer to it as Randolph St. But now that half of Chicago's downtown commuter terminals have new "offical" names, I can only wonder how much longer before LaSalle St. and Union Station are rechristened in the name of big business, politics, or other special interests with deep pockets...

Imagine if an airline bought the rights to naming Union Station - Imagine CUS with a enormous Southwest Airlines logo on each side, sort of like United Center. Would they call it Southwest Station? And if SWS is moved to LaSalle, would that confuse the daylight out of people?

This is only a semi-serious post, btw.

byte wrote:I think it would actually be preferable for them not to name it "Central Station" because the old IC's Central Station was a different station entirely. If people started referring to taking Metra to "Central Station," out-of-towners would respond with "Didn't they tear that down?" and confused-looking facial expressions would ensue. As far as I know, the terminal where the Electric District and South Shore trains have terminated has always, until recently, been called Randolph Street Station.

Not only that, but there is now a housing development located on that site called "Central Station" to really confuse things.

doepack wrote:Or Randolph St. if you prefer...


Stores set to open in Millennium Station

April 22, 2006

CHICAGO -- South Shore and Electric Line riders will soon be able to pick up
flowers, ice cream or some chocolates at Millennium Station at Randolph
Street. Retail outlets are expected to begin opening their doors next month,
officials said Friday.

A firm Metra hired to manage the property has signed leases with three
stores--Millennium News, City Scents florist and Sweet Tooth Cafe--giving
commuters the most shopping options they've had in the underground station
in a decade. The new retail outlets could open as soon as the end of May,
according to a property manager for Beitler Co., which Metra hired last year
to manage the station and lease 16,000 square feet of retail space.

Beitler Co. also has letters of intent from a brand name coffee retailer,
Cinnabon cinnamon roll store and Subway sandwich shop, Metra Executive
Director Philip Pagano told the agency's board Friday. Negotiations are
under way with Bath & Body Works, Chase Bank and a video and game rental
store, he added.

The opening of retail outlets is the final step in the $22 million,
delayed-plagued rehabilitation of the facility, which used to be known as
the Randolph Street Station. Pagano said the leases are exceeding Metra's
expectations and could generate $250,000 for the agency this year, $44,000
more than Metra officials expected.


Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

Meanwhile, La Salle Street gets... nothing. What a suprise. It would be nice if I could buy a magazine or something there to read while I wait up to an hour and a half for the next outbound train because of huge gaps out to Joliet in outdated RI schedule (i.e. between 515 & 403, 403 & 405, 531 & 501). Oh wait, we do have that broken-down little magazine stand at La Salle/Van Buren. Good luck finding someplace decent to eat nearby though.

I'm going to laugh when SWS service gets routed to La Salle and all of the wealthy folk in Orland Park wonder why LSS is a craphole compared to Union. The opening of the SES will just add to the fire...

Kablam76 wrote:Meanwhile, La Salle Street gets... nothing. What a suprise. It would be nice if I could buy a magazine or something there to read while I wait up to an hour and a half for the next outbound train because of huge gaps out to Joliet in outdated RI schedule (i.e. between 515 & 403, 403 & 405, 531 & 501). Oh wait, we do have that broken-down little magazine stand at La Salle/Van Buren. Good luck finding someplace decent to eat nearby though

Compared to what Millenium Park terminal used to look like in its former incarnation as Randolph St. station, LaSalle St. is a paradise. While I agree that RI's schedule is in dire need of a revision, at least those trains have had bathrooms for quite sometime, an amenity that was sorely lacking on Metra Electric, until recently. No doubt, Metra deserved the criticism it received during the years other parts of the system were being upgraded while neglecting Metra Electric passengers, but tangible evidence of long overdue change has finally arrived, in the form of upgraded stations and rolling stock. And I'm sure when SWS and SES begins running out of LaSalle St., that terminal will be upgraded as well, if only out of necessity due to the increased amount of passengers. All in good time...

Courtesy of "The shops at Millenium Station", Metra is offering a free cup of coffee to commuters at Millenium Station during the morning rush hour on Friday, 3/16. For more details...

http://metrarail.com/Sched/me/Millenniu ... atDrop.pdf