U.S. Steel's South Works site, a riddle that has been unsolved by developers for years, is on the verge of trading hands. U.S. Steel is in talks to sell the 430-acre site to a JV of Barcelona Housing Systems and WElink, which wants to build 12,000 housing units on the site.

It's not the first ambitious residential multifamily plan for the site. U.S. Steel and Mccaffery Interests tried for years to transform it into a mixed-use residential and retail development before the two dissolved their partnership last March. U.S. Steel hired Cushman & Wakefield to market the land to potential buyers, as either a single land play or divided into four parcels to different buyers.

What makes the Barcelona/WElink JV interesting is the type of housing Barcelona wants to build. The firm specializes in an inexpensive modular housing model that would fill a need for affordable housing in South Shore. Barcelona wants to build in stages of 3,000 units, according to Crain's. U.S Steel is believed to be seeking bids as high as $80M for the site. [Crain's]