Bronzeville Lakefront Project construction begins at former Michael Reece Hospital site

CHICAGO - City leaders broke ground on a multi-billion dollar project at the former Michael Reece Hospital in Bronzeville Wednesday.

After years of delays, the mix-used Bronzeville Lakefront development will be built to create more space for people to live, shop, and work.

The 48-acre city-owned site was sold to GRIT, a multi-partner local developer group, to be transformed into seven million square feet of offices, mixed-income housing, new roadway, parks and other public amenities. 

The city is contributing $60 million in infrastructure spending to help redevelop the historic site.

The project is expected to take 14 years to complete, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot says it'll be worth it.

SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 32 ON YOUTUBE

"The Bronzeville Lakefront project will bring thousands of permanent and temporary jobs along with greatly needed affordable and market-rate housing to the near South Side," said Mayor Lightfoot. 

The developers say the project is going to move forward, even though Mayor Lightfoot will be out of office in a few weeks.

"Bronzeville Lakefront has been designed to spur economic growth in a socially equitable way," said Scott Goodman, GRIT partner and Founding Principal at Farpoint Development. "It will put a sustainable ecosystem in place, attract diverse tenants, generate jobs, and become a model community of the future."

The project is expected to create 10,000 new full-time jobs that will be based in Bronzeville, as well as more than 9,000 construction jobs. There is an anticipated total investment of nearly $3 billion in the neighborhood. 

The development will be executed in phases and is expected to be completed by 2035.