Related Midwest, CRG to Develop Quantum Innovation Hub in Chicago

In a striking contrast of traditional and cutting-edge technologies, a new high-tech campus focusing—at least initially—on quantum computing will rise on Chicago’s lakefront, on the sprawling site of what was for many decades an active steel mill.

CRG and Related Midwest will develop the 128-acre Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park for anchor tenant PsiQuantum. The campus is just the initial phase of a broader 400-acre master-planned development at the site of the former U.S. Steel South Works.

The State of Illinois committed $500 million to the development of the park, including $200 million for the construction of a cryogenic plant to serve the cooling needs for PsiQuantum and other potential users. In addition, the newly announced Quantum Proving Ground program, a partnership between the state and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, will provide another $280 million.

Designed by Lamar Johnson Collaborative, IQMP’s first phase will occupy about 30 acres and is scheduled for completion in 2027. Clayco will be the general contractor for this initial phase.

Future home of the first U.S.-based utility scale quantum computer

PsiQuantum, of Palo Alto, Calif., plans to build the nation’s first commercially useful “utility-scale” quantum computer at the IQMP. Its Quantum Computer Operations Center will span more than 300,000 square feet, with additional acreage for future expansion.

IQMP’s 128 acres are at the southern end of the overall site. Besides the PsiQuantum facility, the park will include equipment labs, as well as research and office spaces for private companies and universities. DARPA will also have a presence at the campus.

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The location, bearing the street address of 8080 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, is in the South Chicago neighborhood, near the mouth of the Calumet River, which provides access to the Port of Chicago. The site reportedly is one of the nation’s largest contiguous infill waterfront properties.

It’s about 10 miles from downtown Chicago and is accessible from the Metra Electric 87th Street station, served by CTA bus routes and close to the Chicago Skyway and other major thoroughfares. The site is also within the Illinois International Port District, which provides access to intermodal transportation and offers high power and water capacity for quantum and other advanced-technology industries.

Brown to green

The U.S. Steel South Works once produced 1 million tons of steel every year, but after decades of declining production and a contracting labor force, it closed down in 1992.

The former steel mill site has been the target of various redevelopment proposals since then, including overtures from Solo Cup to build a manufacturing facility there.

Now that the site appears ready to finally be on the path to redevelopment, the City of Chicago has estimated the IQMP’s economic impact over the next decade as in excess of $20 billion.

Interestingly for such a stereotypical brownfield setting—much of the acreage is landfill made from steelmaking slag—16.5 acres of the site was acquired by the Chicago Park District in 2002. One of the distinctive features of Steelworkers Park is a 30-foot climbing wall built on massive concrete walls remaining from the mill.