The University of Illinois is ditching its plan for a $285M research and teaching facility that was set to anchor The 78 megadevelopment, leaving a hole in developer Related Midwest's ambitions for the 62-acre parcel.
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The university will instead look to bifurcate the project, setting up shop at the new quantum campus on the Far South Side and seeking classroom and office space downtown, Crain's Chicago Business reports. The university had begun preliminary construction on The 78 site but stopped to reconsider its plan.
In February 2020, the University of Illinois System’s Discovery Partners Institute signed a letter of intent to build a 500K SF research hub on land Related Midwest donated to the university. The institute, which was set to anchor the development, would have taken up 4 acres at the southern part of the site.
The decision means Related Midwest is left without an anchor tenant for the massive parcel stretching south from Roosevelt Road to 16th Street, though its top brass seemed to take it in stride.
“We are more optimistic about our prospects for doing something incredible on The 78 today than we have been throughout our long journey with this project,” Related Midwest CEO Curt Bailey told Crain's. “While there is some disappointment in DPI choosing not to continue to build on the site, that opens up significant possibilities for something really spectacular, and we look forward to being able to pursue that with all vigor quickly.”
The megadevelopment can still hit one out of the park if it brings the Chicago White Sox to the site.
The White Sox and owner Jerry Reinsdorf have been transparent in their intentions to move the team to The 78 and build a new stadium at the development. Reinsdorf has petitioned the state government for taxpayer dollars to fund the stadium and is also mulling moving the team out of Illinois entirely.
The White Sox and Related Midwest also built a temporary baseball field on the site in a September bid to sell lawmakers on financing for the project.
In a statement provided to Bisnow, Related Midwest said it remained committed to the project and its “transformational potential.” A spokesperson said that while the company is saddened to lose the U of I project, the departure opens up opportunities for new partnerships and configurations at The 78.
“The 78 stands alone in its ability to house large institutions that want to plant their flag in the heart of Chicago,” the Related Midwest spokesperson said. “We are actively exploring the co-location of dual stadiums for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Fire, two organizations whose presence at The 78 would align with our vision of creating Chicago’s next great neighborhood.”
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