A Chicago real estate developer paid the city $56,000 to install a Divvy bicycle-sharing station outside two of its apartment buildings in the South Loop, officials are expected to announce Friday.
The agreement with AMLI Residential marks the first private purchase of a Divvy station since the bike-sharing program was launched in mid-2013, officials said. City officials called the deal a “private donation.”
AMLI covered the cost of installing the 15-dock station at Clark and Ninth streets and provided 10 bikes, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
The station, which is already open, is part of the 476-station Divvy system and is operated for public use like all other stations, officials said. The only difference is that the station will have an AMLI logo added soon, officials said.
The station would likely have been located elsewhere if AMLI had not approached the city, CDOT spokesman Mike Claffey said.
AMLI sponsored the station because its two rental buildings at Clark and Ninth, AMLI Lofts and AMLI 900, have a large number of residents who do not own cars and rely on cycling and public transit for their transportation, said Jennifer Wolf, the company’s senior vice president.
Several Divvy stations are within blocks of the development, but Wolf said the more than 1,000 residents who live in the high-rises will benefit from having one right outside their buildings.
“We have a lot of young residents, and our bike storage rooms are filled to the gills,” Wolf said. “The Divvy sponsorship fits in with our efforts to promote healthy living and sustainable practices.”
CDOT Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said she expects more Divvy station purchases will follow, providing the funding to help continue the expansion of the bike-sharing system.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the sponsor of the Divvy system.
Developers have for decades promoted easy access to the “L,” and before that streetcar lines, as a selling point for residential buildings and new subdivisions. Now, the growing popularity of bike-sharing presents a possible added draw to attract renters and homebuyers seeking to live in a transit-oriented development, officials said.
“This partnership with AMLI demonstrates that proximity to a Divvy station can be a real selling point,” Scheinfeld said.
Divvy has been used on more than 5 million trips since it was launched a little over two years ago, CDOT said. The program currently operates 4,760 bikes and 476 stations.
Twitter @jhilkevitch
