Business
Proposed Ford City Mall Redevelopment Sparks Concerns From Some Neighbors
A plan to redevelop the now-shuttered Ford City Mall on Chicago’s Southwest Side is facing opposition.
A proposed $200 million transformation would convert the former commercial shopping site into a warehouse and distribution facility; there would be a new CTA bus terminal, reconstructed streets and sidewalks and a publicly accessible plaza. Some community members, however, worry about what an industrial campus could mean for the overall health of the neighborhood.
“Semi-trucks already congest Cicero Avenue, Pulaski and 79th, and residents are worried that (the project) is going to make it much worse in addition to the possible noise and air pollution that it will bring,” said Glenford Flowers, spokesperson for the Southside Flourish Movement. “To amplify that issue would simply be to neglect the voices of the community.”
The proposed project, developed by Midwest Acquisitions and Management, would replace the present infrastructure with four industrial buildings, 904 passenger vehicle parking spaces, 160 truck parking spaces, 216 loading spaces and the Ford City Redevelopment Plaza — an open area with greenery to commemorate the land’s history and provide some outdoor seating for residents.
A traffic study completed by the development company concluded that the development will “generate significantly less total traffic than the Ford City Mall central building.”
In a bid to change course and make the area into something nearby residents and tourists could utilize, Flowers authored his own alternate redevelopment proposal.
“Around 45 million passengers go through Midway Airport annually, and so to have more of a tourism attraction to bring those tourism dollars to the South Side of Chicago would be a great way of satisfying the tax benefits of the industrial plan that’s ongoing,” Flowers said. “Then along with that, it’s to acknowledge community concerns and make sure that community spaces are still involved in that area.”
After receiving input from community members, the alternative development pitch is an expansive, mixed-use campus that contains a convention center just a couple miles away from Chicago Midway International Airport, improved condominiums, redeveloped apartments, green space, water retention ponds, a shopping center and movie theater.
“You have to find investors that want to come here and take on this monster of a project to build,” said Ald. Derrick Curtis, whose 18th Ward includes the Ford City Mall. He supports the manufacturing site, which was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission late last month. “This project will bring $200 million back on the tax rolls that the city definitely needs, also jobs to the city. We’re going to have a pipeline from college to the manufacturing industrial school and straight to the jobs for manufacturing.”
Curtis called it an opportunity to bring jobs and investment back to the South Side, and argues it’s an idea more grounded in reality.
“This is really a no-brainer,” Curtis said. “This is better than having what we’ve been having. … It was already industrial before. All it’s doing is going back to industrial.”
Leaders with the Southside Flourish Movement urged city officials to delay a vote on the project for 108 days to create time for independent reviews of the potential traffic, air quality, noise and infrastructure impacts. The group also called for additional public meetings to explore alternative commercial and mixed-use developments that would better serve the community.
The industrial campus pitch still needs approval from the City Council’s Zoning Committee and the full City Council before it can move ahead. If approved, it could be completed as early as 2028.
