Thanks to a combination of a deal between steel giant U.S. Steel and prominent developer Dan McCafferty going bad, and a new joint venture between Barcelona Housing Systems and WELink, Chicago could be in a position to not only get a manufacturing plant along the city’s iconic Lakeshore Drive, but also 12,000 modular homes.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, the joint venture has emerged as the winning bidder for the massive site.
“They did their due diligence, and they’ve got all of their ducks in a row,” said Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza.
“They’re gonna be building a manufacturing [plant] on the property where they’re going to be building modular homes. They’ve done it in Barcelona and Argentina. It’s a new, innovative product that’s never been here before.”
As Daily Business News readers are aware, the Barcelona Housing System/WELink joint venture recently partnered with Chinese firm CNBM and announced plans for modular home factories in the U.K.
Jorge Ramirez, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said that he was excited about the prospect of major development and being able to get hundreds of skilled builders back to work.
“I’ve just got to make sure that there’s a meeting of the minds as to how these things are gonna get done. That they’re not cutting corners or [compromising] safety standards,” said Ramirez.
“They’re lifting people up into the middle-class and respecting labor. All of the run-of-the-mill standard types of concerns.”
Garza says that they also thoroughly vetted all 13 bidders for the project before narrowing the list to three finalists, scrutinized even more to make certain they had the financing, know-how and experience to do a project of this size.
Even though 12,000 homes and a factory is a large order, Garza is confident about the joint venture and their ability to deliver.
“They took their time to learn about the neighborhood and find out what people want here,” said Garza.
“With their know-how, their capital and the people they have working with them, I have the utmost confidence they’re gonna do this. I’ve seen some of the work that they’ve done in Barcelona and it’s really incredible. They can build a three-flat in like 30 days. It’s all up to code. We’re not gonna have to wait 20 years to see movement.”
The modular home portion of the project is slated to happen in four phases of 3,000 homes each, and the new plan calls for retail and recreational space.
And Garza is excited about the efficiency.
“They don’t have to dig a foundation. They screw pylons into the ground. They can withstand a 7.8 earthquake. It’s just a new technology. The factory is going to be huge to build this much of a development,” said Garza.
“And once we start building homes, three-flats and four-flats, then come the stores and the other amenities. They incorporate a lot of green space and green technology. Access to the lakefront for all. Stuff that’s been really important to this neighborhood for a very long time.” ##
(Image credits are as shown above.)
Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.
