The largest new planned manufacturing district is the 1,600-acre Stockyards Industrial Corridor, stretching from 35th to 49th streets, as well as the Dan Ryan Expressway and a block shy of Western Avenue. The area includes 200 manufacturing and industrial companies, some of them in redeveloped areas that include the former Chicago Stockyards, which employ 16,000 relatively higher-paid workers. The city has spent more than $60 million since 1995 on infrastructure improvements in the area.
The 782-acre Northwest Planned Manufacturing District stretches from Fullerton Avenue to Lake Street, and generally runs between Cicero and Pulaski avenues. About 200 companies have payrolls totaling 6,700 workers, and the city already has spent $11 million in the industrial corridor. A tax increment financing district already is in place, and could provide nearly $120 million over the next 23 years.
The 197-acre West Pullman Planned Manufacturing District is expected to keep 190 jobs, but the new area may have the most potential. A 1998 market analysis indicates West Pullman could support 1.3 million sf on 115 acres, according to the department of planning and development, with the potential of adding 2,000 jobs.
The three newest planned manufacturing districts were endorsed Thursday by the plan commission.
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