The 606 is arguably the signature public works victory of Rahm Emanuel's administration. As the $95M project is wildly popular and widely used by residents in the neighborhoods it intersects, there are long-term plans in place to extend it past its east and west ends, depending on funding.
The 606's eastern extension could happen first. Sterling Bay revealed plans to stretch the trail from its Ashland Avenue endpoint to the A. Finkl & Sons site, which Sterling Bay is 60 days away from owning outright, according to Crain's. The extension would need to go under the Kennedy expressway, Metra tracks and hop over the Chicago River to happen, and would end at a mixed-use project Sterling Bay has planned at the Finkl site.
The obvious benefits to Sterling Bay aside, the 606 Connector, as it's being called, could serve as an economic catalyst for the entire North Branch Industrial Corridor. It would connect the growing tech and office hubs at Goose Island to the Near West and Northwest sides and the workers who live in those neighborhoods, and serve as a shortcut to the Clybourn Corridor and Halsted Triangle shopping districts. Sterling Bay managing director Andy Gloor says the Finkl redevelopment could bring up to 15,000 permanent jobs to Chicago. [Crain's]
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