The South Side took another step toward becoming a national computer hub Thursday when the Chicago Plan Commission approved the creation of a quantum computer research park on the long-vacant U.S. Steel South Works site. The vote came after hours of impassioned testimony from dozens of community residents. Many said the project represents an opportunity to bring billions of investment dollars and new businesses to a region that has suffered decades of isolation and disinvestment. Others said the massive development, first announced by Gov. JB Pritzker this past summer, is moving at a breakneck pace and needs to slow down, allowing environmental activists and community advocates the chance to secure a written agreement with the developers on wildlife protection, job creation and affordable housing. “Nobody in the community was told that this was coming until we heard about it from the governor,” said Vanessa Schwartz, executive director of Metropolitan Family Services Southeast Chicago Center, which does workforce development in the neighborhood. “We’re always looking for good investment into this community, but there are just a lot of unknowns. We’d like to work with (the quantum park) to ensure our youth have opportunities to pursue career paths.” Developers Related Midwest and CRG plan to build the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park 10 miles south of downtown on a portion of South Works along the lakefront between 79th Street and the Calumet River. Pritzker touts the park as crucial to Illinois’ economic future, and committed $500 million to fund quantum computing research and the new campus, which in July landed California-based tech company PsiQuantum as its anchor tenant. “I want this to look like what U.S Steel was, a massive engine for employment,” said Related Midwest President Curt Bailey. The proposal still needs a green light from the full City Council. The developers want to secure that final approval in December and break ground on PsiQuantum’s initial building by the first quarter of 2025, then begin a second building in the spring. Bailey estimated the development team would have $600 million worth of construction underway in the next six to eight months. “It is not easy to attract capital to this city,” he added. “This project will be able to attract capital.” Not everyone embraces the plan’s rapid pace. Advocates like Friends of the Parks say commission members agreed to rezone the entire 440 acres at 8080 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive for development, but the proposed quantum park would only occupy 128 acres. They worry the remaining open space, now home to a diverse array of wildlife, including migratory birds, could be lost without much public discussion or community involvement. Several birders search for birds on Sept. 13, 2024, at Steelworkers Park, an area that was once part of the U.S. Steel complex. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) Quantum computing aims to use the subatomic forces of quantum mechanics to solve problems faster than traditional computers, and experts say it could lead to scientific breakthroughs in medicine, energy, agriculture and other fields. A University of Illinois-led organization manages the quantum campus, which includes regional partners such as Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab, other area universities, and the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. If successful, the quantum park would end a decades-long struggle to find uses for the South Works site, once home to one of the world’s largest steel plants. It employed 20,000 people at its height, but when U.S. Steel shuttered it for good in 1992, only 700 remained. The plant was mostly demolished, and a parade of developers hatched a series of unsuccessful schemes to replace it, including plans for up to 13,000 homes and a boat marina. Although PsiQuantum has promised to create only 150 jobs, Pritzker said this summer that a completed quantum hub will eventually generate tens of billions of dollars in new investment and thousands of jobs, many not requiring advanced degrees. “We intend to drive innovation on a history-altering scale and provide unprecedented economic opportunity for the people of this great city and state,” the governor said at a July news conference. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, center, prepares to speak to reporters at a news conference on July 25, 2024, at the former U.S. Steel South Works site in Chicago where it was announced that the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park will be built. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune) Those advocating for more discussion won some support from commission members. Both Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, voted to abstain, saying they wanted Related Midwest to hold more community meetings and negotiate a community benefits agreement. “I’m not a ‘no’ vote on this, there’s a lot to be excited about,” La Spata said. “I’m the sort who believes in what’s in writing.” Lopez acknowledged that the developers held three community meetings so far and have another scheduled for December. But he said it’s not enough for a development on this scale. “I don’t see the issue with taking more time,” he said. “My experience is, if it’s not in writing, things tend not to happen.” Anne Holcomb told commission members that she lives two blocks from the site and worries the decades of pollution at the site could make it unsafe to launch such a large construction project. “We need to see this fleshed out before we move forward,” she said. Other residents urged the Plan Commission to approve the plan. Jorge Perez, the owner of Chico’s Oven, a donut shop on 83rd Street, said he bought the building in 1996 and watched the neighborhood lose half its population as other businesses fled in the wake of South Works’ closure in 1992. “That’s what caused displacement,” he said. “I encourage you to vote yes and build it fast.” The developers plan to construct four buildings along the Calumet River for PsiQuantum, completing the first in early 2026, and secure further approvals from the City Council for still-evolving plans to fill in the rest of the research park, including an industrial cryogenic plant. They promised commission members that they would add walking trails, preserve native landscapes for wildlife, maintain the existing lakefront parks, add single-family housing near the site and make sure the soil is uncontaminated. Chicago Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright said the developers’ discussions with community members were far from over, and it was time to get started. “There are opportunities to iron out other details,” she said. “This is how we want to see development move.”