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Deal near for Solo Cup land
McCaffery, Forest City vie for S. Side property
By Alby Gallun
City officials are close to picking a developer for part of the former South Works steel mill site on the far South Side — a decision that would be a major step forward for the long-awaited redevelopment project.
The city is evaluating plans for the
118-acre tract originally slated for a 1,000-job Solo Cup Co. factory. The finalists are two developers: Chicago's
McCaffery Interests Inc., which leads a joint venture that controls the northern part of the South Works site, and
Forest City Enterprises Inc., a Cleveland developer.
Both developers
propose a mix of residential and retail space. Solo, which owns the property, and city officials have been mulling over what to do with it since Solo scrapped its factory plans last year. "We have received proposals from both McCaffery and Forest City," a Solo spokeswoman says.
A spokeswoman for the city's Department of Planning and Development did not respond to calls.
U.S. Steel Corp. shut down the mill in 1992. The vacant site covers an area larger than the Loop, making its redevelopment one of the city's largest real estate projects in years.
McCaffery, whose projects include the Loop's Hotel Burnham and Nike Town on North Michigan Avenue, would be a logical buyer for the Solo parcel, considering McCaffery leads a joint venture that controls about 275 acres to the north.
The venture plans to build as many as 7,000 housing units and 600,000 square feet of retail space, an effort that could take 10 to 20 years.
Forest City, meanwhile, is one of the area's busiest developers. A public company with $1.2 billion in annual revenue, Forest City is a partner in the Central Station project in the South Loop, is revamping the old G. D. Searle & Co. campus in Skokie and has drawn up plans for shopping centers in New Lenox and Sugar Grove.
A spokeswoman says Forest City specializes in complex mixed-use developments like the one at South Works. "The challenge . . . is right up Forest City's alley," she says.
Whichever developer ends up with the Solo site, it's crucial that the plans are integrated with those for the northern parcel, says McCaffery President Daniel McCaffery. "It's going to have to be brought along in a comprehensive manner," he says.
