United Center megaproject sounds enticing, Burnett says. But who’ll pay for new Pink Line station?

Zoning Committee Chair Walter Burnett says he’s enticed by plans for a proposed$7 billion mixed-use development that would transform a sea of United Center parking lots into a thriving new neighborhood, but wants to know more about its taxpayer-funded infrastructure improvements — including the potential for a new Pink Line station.

The zoning application filed by the Wirtz and Reinsdorf families that built and jointly own the United Center makes no mention of a new CTA station that developers believe is needed to access the planned residential and entertainment district and minimize the need for parking.

But Burnett said the new station and related infrastructure improvements have been at the center of negotiations with city planners.

A likely funding source would be the surrounding tax increment financing (TIF) district. But that TIF “may be expiring,” said Burnett, whose 27th Ward includes the project.

Further complicating matters is Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $1.25 billion bond issue to bankroll affordable housing and economic development projects. It weans the city away from its long-standing dependence on TIFs.

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