Chicago south suburbs, northwest Indiana look to build near trains

Commuter rail stations are playing a prominent role in economic development in suburban Chicago and northwest Indiana.

In Homewood, Illinois, entrepreneur Claude Gendreau is turning a former bank building into a boutique hotel near the Metra and Amtrak station, with costs topping $5 million.

And the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which runs the South Shore Line, is pulling funds together for a $1.2 billion improvement and expansion program that includes neighborhood development around stations…Please click here to read an Associated Press story in the Times.

Keith Benman has written a related  three-part series for the Times: “Commuter trains power economy, revive downtowns;” “Business fortunes ride on commuter rail stops” and “NWI needs resolve (and cash) to build commuter rail.”