An Ambitious Plan for New Housing on Chicago's South Side

For 25 years, the former site of a U.S. Steel plant has sat empty at the intersection of 79th street and Lake Shore Drive, but that could change soon. Two European developers are reportedly interested in developing the 440-acre property and the plan would be to develop the property as a mixed use site and include as many as 20,000 homes.

Several factors make that level of development seem unlikely. First, the purchase of the land does not guarantee development at all. Second, many have pointed out that, unlike some of the coastal cities with hot property markets, Chicago and particularly the South Side have a glut of housing. Third, the mere fact that the site has remained undeveloped for so long, shows how tricky it can be to get large areas developed. As Ryan Ori reports for the Chicago Tribune, "Developments of this size are complex and difficult to fund, particularly for a site surrounded by lower-income neighborhoods."