The massive potential scope of a proposed quantum computing campus on Chicago’s South Side has been unveiled as the developer seeks city approval of the project on the site of a former U.S. Steel plant.
Related Midwest is requesting zoning approval to build more than 59 million square feet of quantum computing buildings on the long-vacant land in what city and state officials hope will become the preeminent facility for the use of high-tech computing that would lead to breakthroughs in several business sectors.
The Chicago-based developer, part of New York-based Related Companies, has filed documents that formally will be introduced during Wednesday’s regular meeting of Chicago’s City Council, which would have to approve changes to the massive site’s master plan before the project can proceed.
Its move to introduce the plan comes less than three months after state and federal officials unveiled plans to create a quantum campus in or around Chicago in July. Later that month, it was announced that California-based PsiQuantum would anchor a cutting-edge research campus on the South Works site bordered by Lake Michigan, 79th Street and the Calumet River.
The entire site is 463 acres, about 420 of which will be available for development after right-of-way land is set aside for the project, according to the documents filed by Related Midwest.
Buildings would be developed across several parcels within the sprawling site, likely over several phases and many years. The maximum proposed building height is 170 feet.
The maximum amount of space that would be allowed under the new zoning is more than 59 million square feet, but there is no guarantee that all the density would be needed or utilized.
Related Midwest’s documents filed with the city did not say when it plans to buy the site from U.S. Steel or how soon construction could begin pending zoning approval.
Documents posted online late last week, and previously reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, provide a clearer picture of how much room to grow PsiQuantum, the U.S. Department of Defense and others will have if initial phases are successful.
The first planned building in the complex would include 458,018 square feet of quantum computing space, as well as complementary uses such as offices and cryogenic facilities for cooling, according to the documents filed with the city.
The so-called Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park is backed by Illinois and federal agencies. PsiQuantum is eligible for state incentives valued at around $200 million if it creates at least 154 jobs and invests almost $1.1 billion in the Chicago project.
Chicago already has teams of quantum researchers at the nearby Argonne and Fermi national laboratories.
U.S. Steel closed its plant on the site in 1992 and later demolished buildings on the site near the Chicago Skyway. Several development proposals, which would have brought everything from modular homes to a movie production campus to a casino, failed to come to fruition.
Creating a quantum computing hub on the site could boost lower-income neighborhoods near the site and push Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker toward his goal of making the state a major player in the emerging technology sector.
Related Midwest’s development team also includes two companies affiliated with construction firm Clayco: development arm CRG and architecture firm Lamar Johnson Collaborative.