Development could bring 2,000 jobs to S. E. Side
A$ 169million industrial complex planned for the Southeast Side could bring over 2,000 jobs to the area.
North Point Development of Kansas City will build the project just north of Ford’s Torrence Avenue plant.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza ( 10th) announced the venture on Sunday.
Republic Steel once operated on the site of the new development.
“There is not a corner of the globe we won’t go to secure investments in the city of Chicago that create jobs,” Emanuel said. “We did it with a company that’s not based in Chicago, but they have the confidence they are going to build the largest facilities in Chicago and haul in thousands of jobs.”
North Point estimates more than 1,300 permanent jobs and 650 construction jobs throughout the duration of the project. The 2.2 million- square- foot project will include six industrial buildings, each ranging from 215,000 to 600,000 square feet. This project would be the largest industrial park in Chicago once completed, according to the mayor’s office. The project still needs approval from the Chicago Plan Commission.
The project would also use $ 25.3 million in tax- increment financing funds; those would be used to pay for improvements to the site and roads, though it is unclear if that means nearby public roads or just the roads inside North-Point’s property. The TIF assistance must be approved by the Chicago City Council.
“TIF money will more than likely cover site preparation work given its history,” said Peter Strazzabosco, the deputy commissioner at the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.
Though the steel mills left in 2001, they left their mark.
“The site is a challenging site,” said North Point’s founder and CEO Nathaniel Hagedorn. “It has a lack of infrastructure, it has historic environmental challenges, there are soil condition issues and it was going to take a true public- private partnership to put this project back into productive use.”
According to the Department of Planning and Development, the land is also in one of the city’s industrial growth zones — a program that helps property owners, developers and industrial businesses earn grants for environmental assessments and remediations.
Each of the six buildings would house one or more firms, and Hagedorn said they are expecting 10 new businesses to make this industrial complex its new home when it is complete.
Sadlowski Garza was grateful for North-Point’s investment in her ward and said the company’s message aligned with her own ethics.
“One of the things that hit home for me was its core values, one of which is, put people first,” Sadlowski Garza said.
“This development has the potential to create 3,000 jobs,” she said. “Thank you for believing in us, North Point. Thank you for giving us hope and renewal.”