The city could soon be operating its first intercity bus terminal with strong Chicago branding — if everything goes according to plan.The city has taken the first step toward getting money to buy and rehab the Greyhound bus station at 630 W. Harrison St. That’s after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s c ontentious 2026 budget process, during which Ald. Bill Conway (34th) surprisingly discovered $50 million in line item funding for the project.The Department of Planning and Development held a public meeting last week on expanding the Canal/Congress tax increment financing district to include the Greyhound station. That meeting was required to move forward with allowing TIF money to be used to buy the property.The first hearing on the amendment is set for an April 14 Community Development Commission meeting, according to department Deputy Commissioner Peter Strazzabosco.From there, the TIF amendment could get May hearings in the Finance Committee and City Council. If the amendment passes, the city could be on its way to buy the station this year. Johnson's office said in November it planned to allocate $35 million to buy the property and $15 million to renovate it. The mayor's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.The move to secure TIF funds is good news for DePaul University's Joe Schwieterman, who has been pushing the city for years to open its own public intercity bus terminal.He wants Chicago to follow the lead of other large cities that operate public bus terminals as Greyhound terminals close across the country.The city was bracing for Greyhound to lose its Chicago terminal in 2024, and was considering locations in the downtown area — including Union Station — where buses would use the curb. But Greyhound was saved by a last-minute offer of a month-to-month lease, which it is still operating on. The property is owned by Twenty Lake Holdings, the real estate division of Alden Global Capital.Chicago was on the path to become the largest city in the Northern Hemisphere without an intercity bus terminal. But that could be finally averted if the city bought the property."This could be a huge win for the mayor. But it's going to take a concerted push to make it done," Schwieterman said.He says it's not too early to imagine what that city bus terminal could look like.Large “CHI” letters, signifying the city's call sign, could be added atop the station, as well as a rebranding as the "Chicago Bus Terminal." A glass foyer could provide a nicer waiting area for travelers waiting for rideshare pickups. A proposed rendering of what a Chicago Bus Terminal could look like if the city buys the property.DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development Those modest improvements were proposed in a report released Thursday by researchers at DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development, which Schwieterman directs."The bones of the station are healthy and attractive. And with modest investment it could become an anchor of the central area's transportation system," Schwieterman said.The biggest change to the station should be to rebrand it as a bus station for the entire metro region, he said.A spokeswoman for FlixBus, which owns Greyhound, said the company has "been in communication with city officials and are supportive of efforts to ensure the site continues serving passengers safely and efficiently."Conway broke the news about Johnson's $50 million plan to buy the terminal in November when he came across it in the city's TIF projections.He told the Sun-Times on Thursday it is important the city has multimodal transportation, but that there's still a long way to go before the City Council approves the TIF money. He said he also has concerns about ensuring public safety around the bus station.Conway said the Department for Planning and Development told him the city wants to buy the site for $19 million and put $31 million toward upgrades, though he says the city has not shared what that could entail.Beyond that, Conway said he does not trust Johnson's administration to get the deal done."We need a good deal on this property. I don't have faith in the mayor's ability" to do that, Conway said, citing Johnson's failure to keep NASCAR and the city’s inability to open a public grocery store. He also said the mayor's office has not been forthcoming with deatils."Let's not forget I found this buried in the TIF waterfall table," Conway said.Contributing: Mariah Woelfel The city could renovate the South Loop Greyhound station to include an enclosed foyer.DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development ...read more read less