JULY 22, 2024
Where Chicago’s megadevelopments stand
CURT WALTZ / AERIALSCAPES.COM
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Lincoln Yards
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Bronzeville Lakefront
COSTAR GROUP
Three multibillion-dollar projects — Lincoln Yards, The 78 and the Bronzeville Lakefront — came in a wave of major proposals before the COVID-19 pandemic started. Since then, other sites to watch have emerged as well. I By Rachel Herzog
The 78
ore than five years ago, the City Council approved a pair of multibillion-dollar proposals to transform two sprawling Chicago industrial sites into new neighborhoods with thousands of square feet of housing, office and entertainment space. It’s also been three years since council members signed off on a plan to build an almost 8 million-square-foot campus that would include housing and health care on a 50-acre former hospital site on the Near South Side. In the time since, the COVID-19 pandemic decimated demand for workspace and interest rate hikes made major real estate development projects an even heavier lift, forcing developers to pivot to new ideas for what to build or who to build it with. While those three megadevelopments — Lincoln Yards, The 78 and the Bronzeville Lakefront — came in a wave of major projects that were proposed before the pandemic started, other sites and proposals to watch have emerged since then. River West, where Bally’s plans its $1.7 billion casino and entertainment center, has become a hot spot for developers proposing thousands of new apartment units. The $20 billion One Central project would create a giant office and residential center over the Metra tracks near Soldier Field, though it has yet to get a closer look from state officials. And South Works, a massive industrial site on the South Side, could get new life if it’s chosen as the site of a quantum computing facility. Chicago has a history of ambitious megadevelopments that have, in some cases, taken decades to come together, such as Lakeshore East, a master-planned development east of Columbus Drive See DEVELOPMENTS on Page 17
Abortion bans drive demand for residency programs The trend could be good news for states with fewer restrictions, which will have the top pick of the country’s best medical residents By Katherine Davis
When Dr. Mugdha Mokashi was selecting where to complete her residency in obstetrics and gynecology, she was keenly aware of how varying state-bystate abortion laws might affect her ability to learn and practice. Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision protecting access to abortion, hadn’t yet been overturned
when Mokashi was applying and interviewing for residency programs in 2021, but she says the growing possibility — and eventual reality — was among the top reasons she prioritized programs in states where the procedure was likely to remain legal. “It really mattered to me that I was in a place that I felt like no matter what, I would get the training I wanted to get,” says
Mokashi, 27, who is now finishing her second year of OB-GYN residency at Northwestern University. “In every interview, I asked, ‘What is the abortion training like for your trainees? And how do you anticipate it’s going to change if Roe falls?’ ” Thousands of medical students every year are increasingly See ABORTION on Page 16
Dr. Mugdha Mokashi | MICHELLE KAFFKO, ORGANIC HEADSHOTS
VOL. 47, NO. 28 l COPYRIGHT 2024 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
DAN MCGRATH NASCAR weekend was a reprieve from the barren state of Chicago sports.
HEALTH CARE Blue Cross Illinois parent HCSC saw premium revenue soar last year.
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