and to speed up service along the line. The closed stations were demolished in early 1949 and adaptively reused to make improvements to other "L" stations, including their wood and steel platform girders used to extend station platforms elsewhere. The station closures led to a gap between California and Lake Street Transfer in the area where Damen had been; after 1951, this became a gap between California and Ashland, which measured across. New station A new station at Damen was announced by the Chicago Transit Authority on February 9, 2017, as an infill station. At the time of the announcement, design and engineering was planned to commence in 2017, construction of the new station was expected to begin in spring 2019 and be completed in 2020. Groundbreaking of the new station began in May 2019, with construction of the new station to begin in late 2019 and is expected to be completed in 2021. It will fill the distance between the California and Ashland stations on the Green line. The most recently constructed "in-fill" station had been the Green Line Cermak–McCormick Place station near Wintrust Arena and McCormick Place completed in 2015, and this marks the third new CTA station announced during Rahm Emanuel's tenure as Mayor of Chicago. It will become the closest "L" station to the United Center, with public transportation service to an emerging business corridor and residential neighborhood. At the time of the announcement, the estimate cost was $50 million, but no designs for the station were announced. State and federal agencies were being lobbied for funding for the station by 27th ward alderman Walter Burnett Jr. although tax increment funding (TIF) was planned if no other funding is received. TIF funds are local property tax allotments from an area designated as being in need of development financing for necessary projects that are not likely to have sufficient funding from other sources. On April 25, 2018, the city began the Lake Street reconstruction project, which includes the Damen Station. On August 12, 2022, after years of delay, a building permit for the new Damen Station was issued, with the construction expected to take 18 months. Causes for the delays included supply chain issues that hampered utility relocation. Station details Original station The original Damen station had two station houses, one on each platform, designed in a "gingerbread" Queen Anne style, similar to the other stations on