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Politics & Government

New Metra Station Among Possible 2012 Projects

City proposes 3 ideas to program that provides federal grant funding.

The City of Des Plaines is likely to receive assistance for one of three projects it proposed to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), according to Dan Ungerleider, senior planner for the agency's Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program.

CMAP received more than 220 applications, which it narrowed down to 62, said Ungerleider. Another call for applications will be made in the fall, he added.

Ungerleider noted that CMAP had about 20 projects currently under way.

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Ungerleider said he met with Des Plaines officials a couple months ago for discussions about the city’s expectations and details of the projects:

  1. Plans for a new Metra station for the North Central train line near Oakton and Lee Streets.
  2. Design assistance for future streetscape improvements in the downtown district.
  3. Financial analysis of the potential development of a specific downtown block.

 

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Work on the project would not be approached until 2012, Ungerleider said.

CMAP is looking at how it can best dedicate resources to one of the projects, said Ungerleider, who couldn’t say which project would win acceptance as the agency coordinates resources with their partners.

“We are determining how we can best help Des Plaines meet their goals, and what resources we would be able to dedicate to accomplish them,” the senior planner said.

CMAP began the LTA program in March with support from a three-year, $4.25 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides the funding under the federal interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

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