Chicagoans living near the former U.S. Steel South Works site pressed city and state officials during a community meeting on Wednesday night about the plan to turn the facility into a quantum computing campus.
Over 40 people signed up to give public comments at the first community meeting since July, when the 128-acre Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park was announced by state, county and city officials. The meeting also occurred after 30 community organizations signed a letter asking for a community meeting about the park’s development.
The Aug. 8 letter, addressed to Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker, stressed the impact the park would have on South Chicago and the importance of including local voices in discussions. “It is essential for us to foster transparent and open communication to ensure that the development proceeds in a manner that benefits all stakeholders,” the letter said.
Amalia NietoGomez, executive director of the Alliance of the Southeast, said Wednesday's meeting was a good starting place after residents had repeatedly asked for information about the project. Alliance of the Southeast, an interfaith coalition of churches, schools, businesses and community organizations, has a long history of working to ensure community benefits at the Steel Works site.
She and others wanted more answers to their environmental concerns, but she said she was "glad they're committed to working with the community."
"But we want to know what is the commitment to the community on jobs?" NietoGomez said. "Specifically, what is the commitment to … minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, local businesses? What is your goal for this?"
The massive park will be anchored by PsiQuantum, a Palo Alto, California-based firm that will develop the nation's first commercially useful quantum computer at the production site. It would also create at least 150 jobs over five years, but the company said that figure is likely to increase. PsiQuantum’s facility will be co-developed by real estate firm CRG and Related Midwest.
The park will include an industrial scale cryoplant and a shared-use cryo-facility to achieve the low temperatures needed for quantum computing. It will also include a quantum algorithm center, supplier facilities, workforce development programs and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
While the campus will occupy 128 acres, officials said more than 300 acres are still available for further development.
Ald. Peter Chico (10th) said the community has not seen real investment since the Steel Works mill closed more than 30 years ago. There had been multiple failed proposals for the vacant site, including thousands of homes and a Solo Cup Co. factory.
“That brings us to today, another day that people thought might never come: actual development on this site,” Chico said.
“This is what happens when government works together,” Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore said. “When you have the city, the state, the county, all working in conjunction with one another, this is how you make a difference. This is how you change things.”
Facts about the park were presented such as plans to have no smokestacks and chemical pollutants, or any impact to Steelworkers Park or Park 566. The quantum park will also run on 100% carbon-free power.
James Jennings, interim director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, said the site was evaluated as safe for occupation in 1997. It was re-evaluated in 2006 and 2010.
“We’re very excited about this prospect,” Jennings said. “Everything about this is exactly what we want to see in a remediation.”
The park will be managed and operated by a University-Related Organization, or URO, established by the University of Illinois. A board of managers that includes key stakeholders in the park will lead the URO.
Community organizations and residents asked if a community nonprofit could join the board and if a community benefits agreement would be in place.
Tom Anderson, the city's economic development director, said it's still too early to commit to one path for community benefits. "I think all options are still on the table," he said.
Mark Buford, vice president of investments at M.O.T. Design & Development Group in the Loop, hopes his firm will be able to participate in the development of the quantum campus. His firm has proposed an affordable housing project, the XChange, at a vacant lot at South Exchange Avenue and East 72nd Street in South Shore and wants to contribute to more growth on the South Side.
"This development is about vision, about community," Buford said. "I'm all about growth. I'm excited about that growth. But when you look at the track record of public and the private side of minority participation, it's not that good."
