New Bronzeville Development Will Only Displace Residents If New Bears Stadium Is Part Of Project

BRONZEVILLE — The future of Bronzeville’s massive Prairie Shores complex could be contingent on if the site is selected for the Bears’ next stadium, developers told residents on Friday.

The Details

Three of the southernmost buildings in the five-apartment complex could be demolished if the site is selected for the new stadium. But developers still intend on building over the former Michael Reese hospital site even without the stadium, which would save the new buildings from demolition, according to Zeb McLaurin, CEO of McLaurin Development Partners, which is part of the GRIT Chicago group tasked with the site’s redevelopment.

The proposed

Bronzeville Lakefront development would span about 100 acres and include more than 5,000 residential units, hotels, restaurants, recreational facilities and public space. The recently pitched $10 billion domed Bears stadium would be a part of the development only if selected.

McLaurin initially addressed residents at a Friday town hall by saying that “we are not demolishing any buildings” at Prairie Shores, 2937 S. King Dr., before later stipulating that a new Bears stadium would require the demolition of the southernmost buildings, displacing roughly 1,000 residents.

“Our primary objectives as those who have been awarded the Michael Reese site are to figure out a development plan that brings that site back online in the most efficient manner, provides taxpayers the best return on their dollars and enhances the quality of life for all of Bronzeville,” he said. “Obviously, there’s special attention to Prairie Shores and Prairie Shores residents because you are the immediate neighbor.”

Of those who could be displaced, 200 have lived in the complex for at least five years and would be guaranteed new housing in the proposed development fixed to their rates at Prairie Shores, McLaurin said.

Developers say they would build replacement housing before removing existing units and are proposing tenant protections, including priority access to replacement housing, five years of rent protections and additional assistance for longer-term residents.

McLaurin pledged to incorporate community feedback throughout the development process, which could take years, especially if plans for the stadium move forward.

Neighbors at Friday’s town hall had a range of opinions regarding the proposal. Some, like 10-year Prairie Shores resident Wendell Reeves, remain skeptical about developers’ commitments to longtime residents of the apartment complex.

“We’ve heard a lot of glittery talk,” he said. “But nothing means anything until we get a awarded a [request for proposal] or a contract. I want to see it in writing first before I trust anything.”

Reeves said that Thursday’s news reports worried neighbors and that developers were successful in proposing the project to Prairie Shores residents, at least for now.

“[McLaurin] was here to quell anger, not to increase it — to mollify it, not exacerbate it,” he said. “So I can’t imagine him promising something different. Now, whether people will either become more relieved or more hostile is when they see what’s promised in writing and when the processes start.”

Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) said that he intends on maintaining a transparent relationship between developers and residents as plans move forward for the project, pointing to his personal connection to Prairie Shores and the Michael Reese site.

“My mom thought it was important to mention my connection to [this project],” he said. “Number one, my family comes out of Ida B. Wells. Number two, I have family in Prairie Shores, and number three, I was born in Michael Reese.”

The proposal comes as state legislators — who have failed to pass legislation on a new stadium in the past — are expected to meet soon in a veto session in hopes of keeping the Bears in Illinois. State lawmakers could vote on establishing a public stadium authority that would play an active role in selecting a location for the football team.

Quintin Primo III, CEO of Capri Capital Partners, said that the group is willing to purchase the Bears’ Arlington Heights property if the team’s existing investment there is an obstacle to considering a Chicago location.

Primo said that an anonymous New York-based firm is helping secure financing for the development with an excess of “Middle Eastern institutional capital” that could assist in purchasing the Arlington Heights location, without going into further detail. Primo’s company also helped finance Google’s renovated Thompson center downtown, 100 W. Randolph St.

Developers said they expect to submit an updated infrastructure plan to the city by Dec. 14 as part of the existing Bronzeville Lakefront development process.

The proposal follows an earlier Bronzeville stadium concept unveiled last year, when developers pitched a $3.2 billion domed stadium and development at the former Michael Reese site. The Bears had previously dismissed the location, citing its narrow footprint and safety concerns involving nearby railroad tracks. The Bears have also not issued a public statement in response to the latest proposed Bronzeville stadium site.

Farpoint Development, Golub & Co. and Goldman Sachs bought Prairie Shores in 2019. Farpoint is one of the developers in the GRIT Chicago group, which was selected by the city to redevelop the Michael Reese site in 2017 before the land sale was formalized in 2021.

Built by Draper and Kramer between 1957 and 1961, Prairie Shores remained part of the real estate firm’s portfolio until 2019 when the current owners bought it for $177 million.

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