A city agency Tuesday endorsed a $201.6 million public subsidy for the Foundry Park development that would cover 31 vacant acres on the North Side along the Chicago River.
Foundry Park, a long-term project with an estimated $3 billion cost, could yield more than 3,000 homes in a mix of styles, from low- to high-rise. Twenty percent of the homes would be marketed as affordable, as defined by a city ordinance. It also would provide about 6 acres of open space, including a riverwalk.
While substantial, the project is modest compared with the defunct Lincoln Yards plan that a different developer proposed for the property and additional acreage to the south.
Lincoln Yards collapsed under pressure from rising interest rates and slow demand despite a city subsidy pledge of up to $1.3 billion.
Foundry Park is a venture of JDL Development and Kayne Anderson Real Estate. The subsidy deal includes an estimated $70.9 million for roadway work, with most of the balance to be spent on new parks.
The money would come from tax-increment financing, which is drawn from property taxes that a development pays as its values rise. TIF money is supposed to support a public improvement but it can indirectly benefit private investment.
City officials hope improvements and extensions of Dominick and Kingsbury streets and Southport Avenue will address neighbors’ concerns about traffic congestion. Developers are betting the project will benefit from proximity to Lincoln Park and Bucktown.
Foundry Park is in the 32nd Ward of Ald. Scott Waguespack, who supports the project.
The Community Development Commission unanimously approved the TIF subsidy as it granted the city’s planning agency authority to negotiate final terms with Foundry Park investors. Commission members are appointed by the mayor with the City Council’s approval.
In February, the council approved zoning for Foundry Park, and the subsidy deal was the next critical step. Developers expect to start the first phase this year but guess that completion won’t come before 2034.
Foundry Park is east of the Kennedy Expressway and runs from Dickens Avenue to the river south of Cortland Street. The land includes the site of the old Finkl Steel plant. The company moved to the South Side.
The southern section of the old 55-acre Lincoln Yards proposal is in the hands of Novak Construction, which hasn’t said what it wants to do with it.
City officials told the commission Foundry Park’s subsidy will at first be drawn from the Cortland and Chicago River TIF District that covers the property. They said additional funds would come from tax-exempt notes the city would issue at an interest rate not to exceed 7%.
The city’s last posted report for the TIF district showed a fund balance of $86.7 million at the end of 2024.
