The Best Buildings for CTA Commuters (Car-Free Living)

TL;DR If you want to live without a car, these buildings put a CTA train right at your door. EnV Chicago and the Fisher Building sit about 30 meters from a station, The Alfred has five L lines 39 meters away, and 215 West is a 5-minute ride to the Loop. We ranked them on station distance, Loop commute, and resident rating.

The whole pitch of Chicago is that you can skip the car. These are the buildings that make it effortless, because the train is essentially downstairs.

We measured how far each building sits from its nearest CTA station, how long the transit ride to the Loop takes, and what residents think. Here are the best buildings for car-free living.

The car-free leaderboard

Building	Neighborhood	Nearest station	To the Loop	Rating
EnV Chicago	River North	~31m, Merchandise Mart (Brown, Purple)	quick	4.8
The Alfred	The Loop	~39m, Adams/Wabash (5 lines)	9 min	4.6
215 West	The Loop	~66m, Washington/Wells (4 lines)	5 min	4.5
1611 West Division	Wicker Park	~73m, Division (Blue)	24 min	4.8
The Thompson	Fulton Market	~87m, Ashland (Green)	20 min	4.8
Fisher Building	The Loop	~31m, Library (Blue)	8 min	4.2
The Teller House	Uptown	~83m, Lawrence (Red)	value pick	4.5

Closest to the train

EnV Chicago in River North is about as close as it gets, roughly 31 meters from the Merchandise Mart stop on the Brown and Purple Lines, and it pairs that with a 4.8 resident rating. Walk out the lobby and you are basically on the platform.

The Fisher Building in the Loop matches it at about 31 meters from a Blue Line entrance, with an 8-minute ride to the heart of downtown and rent that is a relative value around $2,561.

The most connected: The Alfred

If you want options, The Alfred in the Loop is the standout. It sits about 39 meters from Adams/Wabash, which is served by five L lines, the Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple. That is access to nearly the entire system from one corner, with a 9-minute Loop ride, a 4.6 rating, and an entry price around $2,097. For a true car-free life, five lines at the door is hard to beat.

The fastest to the Loop

For pure speed downtown, 215 West in the Loop clocks about a 5-minute transit ride. It also carries a strong 4.5 rating and sits on four lines at Washington/Wells.

Best for the Blue Line and O'Hare

If you travel a lot, 1611 West Division in Wicker Park is the pick. It is about 73 meters from the Division Blue Line stop, which runs straight to both the Loop and O'Hare with no transfer, and it holds a 4.8 rating. The Thompson in Fulton Market is another high-rated option, 4.8 stars steps from the Ashland Green Line.

Best value, car-free

The Teller House in Uptown is the budget-friendly way to go car-free, about 83 meters from the Lawrence Red Line stop, a 4.5 rating, and rent around $1,748. You trade a longer downtown ride for real savings and a one-seat Red Line trip.

How we ranked this

We used live data: the walking distance from each building to its nearest CTA station, the transit travel time to the Loop, and the building's Google rating. The buildings here all sit within roughly a 90-second walk of a train, so the car keys can stay in a drawer.

Want to match a building to your specific commute? See our commute times ranked by neighborhood and our most walkable neighborhoods reports. Then browse current openings and book a tour.

Hero image: Photo by Moses Polonio on Pexels