CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The future of some prime land on the city’s Near South Side could be more clear later Tuesday.
The Community Development Commission is expected to vote Tuesday on an agreement between the city and a developer for the former Michael Reese Hospital property.
The city is agreeing to sell the 48-acres of property for nearly $97 million. Fairpoint Development would then use the land for residential and commercial uses.
According to the Sun-Times, the first phase of the roughly $4 billion project is to include a research facility operated by Israel’s highly regarded Sheba Medical Center; plus senior housing and a community welcoming center on the southern portion of the property.
Additionally, Fairpoint Development wants to turn part of the land into nearly 5,000 residential units, with 20 percent set aside at reduced rents for people with lower incomes.
Some of the land around 29th and the lakefront would also be used for retail.
The development is called Bronzeville Lakefront and has been thoroughly vetted by community groups.
Under the agreement, the city would also repay to Fairpoint as much as $60 million to to extend city streets into the 48-acre site near 31st Street and Lake Park Avenue; and another roughly $30 million for the clean-up of hazardous waste from a plant that was on the land 100 years ago.
The city bought the land for $91 million in 2009, when Mayor Daley was pushing for the 2016 Summer Olympics and it’s been vacant ever since.
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