After sitting vacant for 15 years, the site where Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center once stood finally is being redeveloped. In late March, the Bronzeville Lakefront Infrastructure groundbreaking near Chicago’s southside lakefront took place; it was long overdue.

Chicago is known for its topnotch medical facilities. For many years Michael Reese was considered one of those first-rate hospitals in the Chicagoland area. The first infant incubator was developed there by Julius Hess, and it housed the first permanent incubator station for premature infants.

During the early years of its founding, Michael Reese – located just west of Lake Michigan between 29th and 31st streets – was part of the Southside Planning Board that included several organizations, including Mercy Hospital and Illinois Institute of Technology. This was a group dedicated to rebuilding an area that was in decline.

The Michael Reese Hospital complex, a 48-acre site, was a mainstay in the community from 1907 until it closed its doors in 2008.

A few years ago, a group of ambitious developers saw the value in this Bronzeville property and put a plan in motion to redevelop the Michael Reese Hospital site.

GRIT Development Manager, LLC, a consortium of six entities, Farpoint Development, Draper and Kramer, McLaurin Development, Loop Capital, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, and the Bronzeville Community Development Partnership, will begin development on the southern end of the site in the spring of 2023.

This $3.8 billion development contains two phases: the southern end is proposed to include an innovation center, retail and community space, a park, a mixed-income residential building and restoration to the Singer Pavilion, the only structure left from the original Michael Reese complex.
Phase two is projected to include an amalgam of a data center, offices, retail spaces, mixed-income residential units, open spaces and possibly medical research facilities.

CCLF provided a $5 million loan to complete the development of public infrastructure that will serve Bronzeville Lakefront. The infrastructure improvements include a new, cohesive street grid that will more efficiently connect people and places across the Bronzeville Lakefront site.

The groundbreaking ceremony began with GRIT partner and lead developer Scott Goodman of Farpoint Development discussing how the project was initiated and how it got to where it is today. Chicago Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, talked about the millions of dollars that the city helped to raise for this necessary project that will improve the South Side and how various city departments worked to bring this project to fruition, such as the Department of Transportation where Commissioner Gia Biagi and Department of Planning & Development Commissioner Maurice Cox talked about their team’s participation in this project.

Other speakers included development partner Zeb McLaurin, CEO, McLaurin Development, and Alderman Sophia King of the 4th Ward who introduced the Michael Reese Advisory Committee made up of residents, nonprofit leaders, church leaders, and former Michael Reese employees whom she praised for their input to the project.

This prime property is anchored to the north by McCormick Place, to the south by Illinois Institute of Technology, to the east by Lake Michigan and with Hyde Park and the University of Chicago nearby.