Illinois taxpayers are left footing the bill for a South Loop tech hub that will never be built, with millions already spent and no building to show for it.
The University of Illinois abandoned plans for a $285 million research facility on the city’s South Side, erasing $30 million in taxpayer funds, the Chicago Sun Times reported, citing records from the Illinois Capital Development Board.
The proposed Discovery Partners Institute was envisioned as an economic engine, poised to generate thousands of high-tech jobs in Chicago’s South Loop. The facility would have been built at The 78, a 62-acre megadevelopment by Related Midwest.
However the university ditched those plans in October, opting instead to focus on developing the 128-acre Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a research campus on the former U.S. Steel South Works site. Gov. J.B. Pritzker pushed for that development, which is also spearheaded by Related Midwest.
Related Midwest, general contractor Clayco, and architecture firm Lamar Johnson Collaborative are handling development and construction of the campus.
The shift in direction effectively canceled plans for the Discovery Partners Institute, leaving taxpayers to bear the costs already incurred.
Jacobs Consultants, the firm responsible for designing the 261,000-square-foot building that would have housed it, received over $19.9 million for its efforts.
Meanwhile, Clark Construction Group and other contractors were paid substantial sums for various preconstruction services, including planning and feasibility assessments. Clark had a $196 million contract for the construction of the facility, but those services have ultimately gone unused.
Last year, the state committed to investing $300 million into the former U.S. Steel South Works site and providing $200 million to California-based PsiQuantum through grants, workforce development assistance and a low-interest loan.
— Andrew Terrell
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