Chicago Lakeside Development is a proposed redevelopment of about 600 acres on the former U.S. Steel SouthWorks site on the South Side of Chicago, lying about south of the Chicago Loop. The plan calls for 13,575 new homes, of retail and other commercial space, a new high school, 1,500-slip marina,125 acres of public land, lakefront access, new bike paths, and commuter rail and bus service would house 150,000 people. The Chicago Lakeside Development Master Plan will take an estimated 25 – 45 years to complete and will cost more than $4 billion in both public and private funds. The project was placed on indefinite hold in February 2016.
Project status
The South Works site has been vacant since 1992, when Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel closed its plants. September 15, 2010 Chicago Plan Commission approved the project. Chicago Lakeside Development, LLC a joint venture between McCaffery Interests and United States Steel Corporation are developing the development. Phase I of Chicago Lakeside Development includes a mixed-use shopping and residential district known as The Market Common with construction to begin in 2012. The project is estimated to generate more than 1,500 temporary construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs when complete. The Dave Matthews Band Caravan put a space between the past and present in one of Chicago's most unusual concert venues, on July 8, 9 and 10. The outdoor, no-seating, multistage festival took place on the site of the steel plant. The land cuts like a boomerang into Lake Michigan and has sparkling views of the city skyline about 10 miles to the north. The festival was the first exposure for most concertgoers to the hardscrabble neighborhood and the new Lakeside Development that is slated to include 50,000 residents, stores, a high school and a marina. The event is a public-private partnership among U.S. Steel Corp., Lakeside developer McCaffery Interests of Chicago, festival promoter Starr Hill Presents and, in a rare collaboration, Chicago concert giants Jam Productions and Live Nation. After a press conference at the site, Jam chairman Jerry Mickelson couldn't say what the venue capacity will be, but he did say there will be secured parking for 30,000 cars. There will be no camping; the venue will be temporary. It's said that the concert festival will draw more than 70,000 people a day to this Southside shore location. In February 2016, McCaffrey announced that U.S. Steel had declined to proceed and the project as cancelled, but they would proceed with the project if U.S. Steel was willing to sell the land.
