MHub Eyes $1B Industrial Expansion in Near West Side

The nonprofit advanced manufacturing incubator mHub is reportedly in talks to acquire several key pieces of land, and is aiming to begin construction on a 72-acre industrial ecosystem project.

An mHub affiliate is in advanced talks to snag a full city block just south of its facility at 240 North Ashland Avenue, as well as 1640 West Walnut Street, according to Crain’s. The pair of purchases would mark the start of a campus called M+, which was described in a recent mHub annual report as a space for startups, manufacturers, researchers and other industrial companies to align and ramp up advanced manufacturing in the area.

Chicago-based mHub stated that it has been receiving investment for the vision in the annual report. The organization noted an influx of cash from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Builders Vision, the Blackhawks Foundation and others. A website connected with the vision includes a job listing for a managing partner of the district’s development fund, noting that the first phase of the M+ industrial district would run around $250 million.

Alderman Walter “Red” Burnett told the outlet that mHub has submitted plans to the city, and is looking for public funds to assist in funding the project. mHub formerly received $17.6 million in tax-increment financing money for its 240 North Ashland Avenue purchase and redevelopment. The nonprofit is looking for around $50 million in city funding for phase one, according to the outlet.

The M+ campus is looking to spring to life in the middle of the Kinzie Industrial Corridor, a space established in 1988 to defend industrial jobs from being pushed out of the area by other types of developments. Details surrounding the project are still sparse, but the vision could revitalize the light industrial business hub if completed. MHub’s annual report states that the investments were coming in to help combine modern industrial space with clean energy infrastructure. The target investment for the vision to be realized is $1.3 billion, according to the annual report.

The development is ramping up at the same time as the 1901 Project around the United Center, just a few blocks down the road. In the past, key figures connected with both projects have butted heads about zoning regulations in the Kinzie Corridor, and whether the future of the area should include protections for blue-collar jobs or go full bore on mixed-use developments.

— Hunter Cooke