The authority has identified 3,000 underused parcels owned by transit agencies and considers 91 of them ready for development, NITA division manager Heather Mullins said. Most are in the suburbs, and together they could accommodate about 8,500 homes. State law requires NITA to publish an inventory of underused transit-owned property by June 2027.

NITA expects to begin accepting developer proposals in 2028, with construction potentially starting in 2029. The agency is aiming to pursue four or five transit-oriented development projects annually and plans to commit $10 million to the effort, including projects with affordable housing, Mullins said.

The law gives NITA authority its predecessor, the Regional Transportation Authority, lacked. The agency can partner with private developers, borrow money, offer incentives and, with a municipality’s approval, use eminent domain. It can also acquire property for development, including land not already owned by a transit agency.

That reach is unusual, said Yonah Freemark, a transit-oriented development expert at the Urban Institute. He said the law gives NITA more direct development authority than virtually any other U.S. transit agency.

For now, NITA says it intends to focus on unused property already in public transit ownership. It must first build a development office and is hiring a manager to lead a team expected to have about 10 staff members. Mullins said the agency has spent decades helping municipalities plan projects but did not previously have the ability to lead them itself.

Transit-oriented development, or TOD, aims to make areas around transit more walkable and useful for living, working and shopping. Supporters say it can improve access to jobs, reduce car dependence and help households lower transportation costs. The Metropolitan Planning Council estimates households may save as much as $10,000 a year through such development.

Juan Sebastian Arias, who leads the Chicago nonprofit Elevated Chicago, said NITA could work with municipalities that have vacant land near stations rather than taking on projects alone. That approach could help communities connect housing and other development with existing transit, he said.

Chicago has pursued transit-oriented development policies for years. A 2013 ordinance loosened some parking requirements for buildings near train stations, and the city adopted an equitable transit-oriented development policy in 2021 intended to encourage construction while protecting lower-income residents from displacement. A report from Elevated Chicago said more than 100 city-owned-land projects were underway.

The new law also removes municipal parking minimums within a half-mile of rail stations and within one city block of bus corridors. The change does not bar developers from building parking; it eliminates a requirement to provide a set number of spaces.

Audrey Wennick of the Metropolitan Planning Council said mandatory parking can add costs when developers are required to build more spaces than residents or businesses need. Developers have welcomed the change, according to the source material, while cautioning that higher borrowing and construction costs remain obstacles to projects.

NITA’s authority could help make some developments possible, said Oji Eggleston, executive director of the Renaissance Collaborative, which is developing the Abrams Intergenerational Village near the Garfield Green Line station in Washington Park. Joy Aruguete, chief executive of Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, said the broad definition of TOD could create opportunities across a region with extensive transit service.

The scale of NITA’s plans will depend on staffing, financing and agreements with local governments, and projects are still several years away. If they move forward, the first developments will test whether the agency can use public land and new authority to add housing and neighborhood destinations while expanding access to transit.