Rich Bira@RichAboutRE
@boringcompany @ChicagosMayor @nbcchicago @ChicagoBears @ArlingtonHtsGov @elonmusk
With today’s Nashville Music City Loop announcement delivering ~9-minute airport access, any renewed interest in reviving Chicago’s 2018 Express Loop?
That proposal was officially benchmarked at ~12 minutes one-way from downtown (Block 37) to O’Hare. Privately funded Tesla pods that would beat existing options 3-4×. Vegas proved the tech works. Nashville is building it.
As @nbcchicago’s recent “Superstation to Nowhere” investigation showed, Chicago already spent $400M+ on the unfinished Block 37 superstation shell. It’s still sitting idle and mothballed.
What a great way to turn that taxpayer investment into a revenue-generating asset, attract business and travelers back to downtown, and help tackle growing Loop vacancies, all with zero new public dollars.
And if the @ChicagoBears really leave Soldier Field, let’s hope they land in Arlington Heights. That would open the door to extend the tunnel from O’Hare straight to the proposed Bears Entertainment complex.
If Chicago doesn’t move on this, who knows.. maybe @ArlingtonHtsGov will. Either way, it would cut Bears game-day traffic and boost visitors to the attractions at the complex.
Chicago or the region could be next! 🚀 #ChicagoLoop #BearsArlington
PS. Remember this post x.com/chicagotribune…
Thanks, @grok for the real-time research and fact-checking. I kept adding the ideas (Block 37 current status, station costs, vacancies, revenue upside, Bears extension, etc.) and Grok validated the details. Exactly how fast human + AI teamwork should work.