City Planning Commissioner Reifman resigns as Rahm’s term nears its end

City Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifman is stepping down from his post after four years, exiting the key city development post as his benefactor, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, leaves office.

Reifman told the Chicago Sun-Times his biggest regrets were failing to bring development to the Michael Reese Hospital site near McCormick Place and the sprawling U.S. Steel South Works property on the Southeast Side.

Irish developer Emerald Living had been planning a massive development on the former steel mill site as late as last year, but backed out because of significant environmental issues.

At the Michael Reese site, the city has chosen a team lead by Farpoint Development to transform the Near South Side property into the Burnham Lakefront mega-project, but no shovels have been turned yet. The site is expected to benefit from its designation as a federal Opportunity Zone, and Reifman told the Sun-Times there’s a “long-term idea” to build a soccer stadium on the site that could be the future home of the Chicago Fire Major League Soccer team that now plays in Bridgeview.

Still, Reifman leaves with a track record of shepherding major projects to the finish line, most recently Sterling Bay’s Lincoln Yards and Related Midwest’s The 78, which won approval in the 11th hour of Emanuel’s administration. [Chicago Sun-Times] — John O’Brien