Pace Bus depot in Schaumburg expanding to former post office site

The Pace Suburban Bus agency's Northwest Transportation Center south of Woodfield Mall and west of Streets of Woodfield in Schaumburg will soon undergo an expansion and renovation incorporating the former post office site to the west.

The upgrade approved by Schaumburg trustees this week also will include such new amenities as an indoor waiting area and passenger restrooms, Schaumburg Community Planner Marisa Krawiec said.

The post office building will be demolished to move the bus access to Mall Drive as well as to provide more customer parking.

Other existing structures scheduled for demolition include a portion of the bus canopy and the kiosk building housing the restrooms for bus drivers. They will be replaced by more parking and a 1,400-square-foot brick and stone building with a window-arced roof containing a vestibule, a waiting area and separate customer and driver restrooms.

Remaining portions of the canopy will be painted blue to match Pace's branding. The facility will be open from 4:45 a.m. to midnight daily.

The renovated facility will have new signs as well as sidewalks providing pedestrian access from Mall Drive and Kimberly Drive to the bus terminal.

Construction is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2022 and be complete by the end of 2023, without interruption of services.

Parking capacity at the center will increase from 187 spaces to 302.

Pace began making plans for expansion of the facility in 2019 when customer parking had reached capacity, Project Manager John Bierman said. Though the pandemic temporarily solved that problem, its impact hasn't lasted, he added.

"Our ridership has been steadily increasing, and we know this pandemic isn't going to be forever," Bierman said.

The village staff never identified any more preferable use for the former post office, Krawiec said. It lies in a portion of the Woodfield Hub planning area hoped to support the neighboring Northwest Transportation Center.