CTA seeks approvals for several Red Line Extension property purchases and relocation payments

Bill Mooney, CTA chief infrastructure officer, briefed the board on a series of Red Line Extension (RLE) land transactions and associated relocation expenses.

Mooney asked for board approval of relocation expenses due under the Uniform Relocation Assistance Act for the parcel at 11900 South Cottage Grove totaling $5,573,470 and noted this exceeds staff authority thresholds so board action was required. He then presented negotiated purchase prices for multiple parcels tied to the RLE: a negotiated price of $1,175,000 for property at 411–413 West 105th Street (with relocation expenses estimated not to exceed $580,000), and $5,600,000 for parcels at 12200–12256 South Cottage Grove. Staff said all of these costs are accounted for within the existing project budget.

Mooney also presented an intergovernmental agreement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to acquire fee property with reserved easements and to reimburse MWRD for mitigation work associated with the alignment and the federal NEPA commitments. The acquisition cost cited was $4,490,000 and the IGA included reimbursable mitigations not to exceed $45,510,000 (eligible if costs are submitted prior to Dec. 1, 2029).

Mooney and directors described the RLE acquisitions as a milestone: staff said roughly 193 parcels were required after design refinement and that the program has largely completed the acquisitions, preserving contingency in the project budget. Directors asked about the process, relocation variability and community impacts; staff described efforts to avoid harming generational wealth and reported that, while some eminent-domain proceedings occurred, CTA had not taken property by force.