Talking with someone in a position to know during the Homecoming concert, according to them the Multimodal transit center is the most expensive building built in the state of Illinois in the last 10 years, with a cost running around $800 per square foot.
I must say, there is a lot of empty space inside, both horizontally and vertically. There is a lot of empty vertical space inside the architect put in there to comply with the city's downtown requirement of having facades at least 2 stories tall. Instead of putting a second floor in, there is just a lot of open space, which will require heating and cooling.
In addition, there are more meeting spaces in the north end of the building. Did the city need them? It already has space at the Dunn Richmond Center, in the Student Center, in the Civic Center, even the old Train Depot building. Local groups also meet in the Public Library and in various churches. It seems we have far more meeting spaces that we have meeting space need.
I hope some of that space will be used for a waiting area for Greyhound coaches especially when they are not on time and the weather is bad. As for the other spaces it does seem that the City Council has screwed up once again.
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