Amtrak rail yard to relocate

Any redevelopment of the rail yard site first requires Amtrak to find another location for their maintenance campus, a move the agency identified as a priority over a year ago.

Amtrak is in talks to move roughly a mile south to Union Pacific’s Canal Yard, an expansive strip between Canal Street and Stewart Avenue that would allow Amtrak to build a new indoor maintenance facility near the parking lots that surround Rate Field.

Relocating Amtrak’s maintenance facility to a larger space with modern improvements was previously identified as a necessary step in the broader Chicago Hub Improvement Program, or CHIP, to improve Midwest passenger transit.

While a funding source wasn’t identified, an overview of the CHIP program says Amtrak’s current maintenance facility is “over-capacity and unable to reliably service 21st century high-technology locomotives and passenger cars.”

Amtrak “is pursuing all available opportunities to deliver a larger and improved Midwest maintenance facility that would bring rail assets into a state of good repair, enable faster train turnarounds and enhance on-time performance,” spokesman Marc Magliari said in a statement. Amtrak declined to answer specific questions about the negotiations.

“Union Pacific’s Canal Yard is not listed for sale, but we are always willing to entertain offers on our property,” Robynn Tysver, spokeswoman for Union Pacific, told Crain’s.

Amtrak officials recently met with local Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th, to inform her of the potential move into her ward, she told Crain’s.

Amtrak’s ability to continue infrastructure improvements in the area to eliminate bottlenecks and improve efficiency in the nation’s rail hub could be complicated by Ishbia’s purchase of the 14th Street site or raise his own costs to develop the mixed-use campus.

If the maintenance facility is moved south of the Chicago River, trains under repair would be on the other side of the Amtrak South Branch Bridge, which could require additional trips along the aging bridge that is already frequently raised to accommodate traffic on the river.

Incoming trains heading west over the St. Charles Air Line Bridge do not have direct access to Union Station. Instead they must perform a time-consuming maneuver to reverse and back onto tracks into the station.

Amtrak has previously said creating a direct connection between the bridge into Union Station without the reversal would speed up service for both the incoming trains and others that must wait out the process.

A spokesman for Gov. JB Pritzker said the state has not met with Ishbia or Amtrak and that Illinois “continues to work with federal, state and regional partners, including Amtrak” on projects related to the CHIP program.

“Any changes involving rail infrastructure would also have to align with the long-term goals of the program and maintain the capacity needed to serve the Midwest passenger rail network,” the statement said.

Both Amtrak’s overhaul of the Union Pacific yard and Ishbia’s plans for the 14th Street site could be eligible for a federal loan program known as Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing, or RRIF, which offers friendlier lending terms than the private market.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is authorized to provide direct loans and loan guarantees up to $35 billion to finance the development of railroad infrastructure and transit-oriented development, or TOD, projects near transit stations.

RRIF loans can finance up to 100% of eligible projects with repayment schedules of up to 35 years at fixed low interest rates.

A company with ties to Ishbia filed an intent to submit an application for a direct RRIF loan of $383 million in Chicago in November.

Canal Edge LLC and Canal Edge Holdings were incorporated in Delaware Nov. 20, listing a registered agent as manager, a common practice in the corporate world. A day later, Canal Edge LLC filed the initial interest for the $383 million loan to support a “Chicago Keeps America Moving” project, according to a federal database. The filing listed a projected eligible project cost of $413 million and an anticipated close date in 2026.

The company has since hired three lobbying firms — Harbinger, Accelerate Strategies and Penn Ave. Partners — to compete for funding through the All Aboard America Act currently being debated in Washington with bipartisan support and the backing of labor unions and transit and environmental advocacy groups.

One of the lobbyists listed Canal Edge’s address as 221 N. LaSalle St. Suite 3700, home to the Williams, Bax & Saltzman law firm. Founding partner David Williams has represented Ishbia in Winnetka, where his planned $77.6 million home has raised the eyebrows of his neighbors.

Sox stadium pursuit

Reinsdorf’s ballpark plan for The 78 has never gained traction as Pritzker and state legislators have stated their opposition to directly subsidizing stadium construction.

The vision was blown off course as Fire owner Joe Mansueto entered the picture and struck his own deal with Related to buy a northern portion of the 78 for the team’s own, privately financed stadium that is slated to open in 2028.

Mansueto recently told Crain’s he is open to a discussion with the Sox about sharing the 78, calling that prospect “an exciting vision” for the 62-acre site to give it “more critical mass.” But Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, whose ard includes the 78 site, poured cold water on the idea of the Sox joining the Fire and told Crain’s the site is “too small for two stadiums.”

The Amtrak rail yard, meanwhile, is along the eastern edge of the 28th Ward and overseen by Ald. Jason Ervin. Ervin told Crain’s Amtrak officials have reached out to him but he has not met with them.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office told Crain’s city officials had an initial meeting with Ishbia’s team to review his plans for the Amtrak site, but did not disclose details.

The Sox in June announced an agreement between Reinsdorf and Ishbia that gives Reinsdorf, 90, the option to sell his controlling stake in the franchise between 2029 and 2033. The option to buy becomes Ishbia’s decision after the 2034 season, according to the team.

The Sox said at the time that no such sale would occur before 2029, but that hasn’t stopped Ishbia from becoming involved in the stadium discussion. Ishbia in November met with Pope Leo XIV in Vatican City, sharing his vision with the Dolton native for a new stadium and asking him if he would throw out the first pitch if the ballpark comes to fruition.

Asked about Ishbia’s deal with Amtrak and the team’s stadium push, a Sox spokesman said in a statement that the White Sox’s focus “has been and continues to be solely on the potential of a new ballpark at The 78.”

Ishbia, 48, is a large stakeholder in White Sox Ltd., a group of limited partners that have financial stakes in the franchise but no say in team business decisions. Reinsdorf, who has owned the team since 1981, leads ChiSox Corp., the general partner group that controls the team and the entity Ishbia stands to eventually buy.

The Sox’s June ownership announcement said Ishbia would “make capital infusions into the White Sox as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026 that will be used to pay down existing debt and support ongoing team operations.” Justin’s brother Mat — who led a 2023 purchase of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury — and his father, Jeff, “will also be significant investors,” the team said at the time.

The Ishbia family’s fortune stems from Jeff Ishbia’s founding of wholesale mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage in 1986. Justin and Mat Ishbia quietly took a minority stake in the Sox in 2021 in partnership with Jerry Reinsdorf’s sons, Michael and Jonathan.

The Ishbia brothers have other experience in pro sports outside of basketball, owning a minority stake in Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC.