# Ford City Mall will become an industrial campus after Chicago City Council rezoning *The vacant Southwest Side mall was rezoned for four industrial buildings with 216 truck loading spaces, over objections from two alderpersons in committee.* By Chicago Politics · Updated Oct 20, 2026 The shuttered Ford City Mall on the Southwest Side is set to become a campus of warehouses and light industry. The Chicago City Council approved the rezoning of the 67-acre site at 7601 S. Cicero Ave. on Sept. 23, voting 50 to 0 on a group of zoning changes that included it. The ordinance, [SO2025-0018864](/matter/SO2025-0018864-zoning-reclassification-map-no-18-k), turns the mall's shopping district into an industrial planned development. The developer, Midwest RE Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of Chicago-based Curve Industrial, plans to demolish the mall and build four industrial buildings totaling about 1.1 million square feet. Ald. Derrick G. Curtis (18th Ward), whose ward includes the site, made public safety his case. A court ordered the empty mall vacated this summer because of safety concerns, he said. The vote settles what happens to the empty mall. The debate in committee was over the trade-off: an active site with jobs and taxes, against truck traffic next to homes and at least one school. > "We can continue trying to manage those problems, or we can address them by putting this property back in productive use." > — Ald. Derrick G. Curtis (18th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sept. 22, 2026 Ald. Byron Sigcho-López (25th Ward) and Ald. Julia M. Ramirez (12th Ward) asked to be recorded as no votes when the zoning committee approved the plan on Sept. 22. Both voted yes when the full Council took its grouped roll call the next day. ## What changes on my block? The buildings are speculative: no tenants have been named. The developer's attorney told the committee they are designed for logistics, distribution and manufacturing users. The plan has 216 truck loading spaces and 160 truck parking spaces, the development team said. Its air quality consultant said the study assumed 10 to 20 trucks an hour over 24 hours, and that the project commits to an anti-idling policy. No noise study was done, and no air monitors are proposed. The team estimated about 185 permanent jobs and 90 construction jobs, with about $200 million in private investment. It set goals of 26% minority-owned and 6% women-owned business participation. Curtis listed the public pieces: a rebuilt 76th Street, new roads and sidewalks, new water, sewer and utility lines, stormwater management and a new CTA bus terminal. He said the current terminal relies on portable toilets. The landscape architect said green space on the site would grow from about 127,000 square feet to 644,000, with more than 900 trees. A half-acre Ford City Heritage Plaza would mark the site's history, from a World War II aircraft engine plant to the mall that opened in 1965. Video: [Ald. Derrick G. Curtis on the Ford City redevelopment](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/BDC8C0C1-8B87-F111-AB0E-001DD80BE3C0?t=3:05:06-3:06:44) ## What supporters and opponents said Curtis said the site has seen unlawful activity and a loss of life, and that the fire department raised concerns about its deteriorating infrastructure and emergency access. He said his office pushed the developer to work with neighbors and nearby businesses. Ald. Anthony Beale (9th Ward) compared the plan with the mall in its prime. The traffic engineer said about 35,000 cars a day used the site at its peak. > "Nobody asked for monitors. And nobody asked for anything with 35,000 cars and trucks going through this site every day." > — Ald. Anthony Beale (9th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sept. 22, 2026 The developer estimated the property pays about $1.6 million a year in property taxes now, could fall to about $1.3 million if it stays vacant, and would pay about $3.5 million once built. Sigcho-López said diesel truck traffic is a different burden from cars, and that he had seen calculations of about 470 semi-trucks a day. He said the buildings would sit almost at the porches of nearby homes, close to at least one school. > "I think, like, logistic facilities should be at the bottom, not at the top of proposals going from commercial, residential, to logistics facility of this nature." > — Ald. Byron Sigcho-López (25th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sept. 22, 2026 Ramirez said community groups told her they held seven town hall meetings that the development team did not attend. She asked for more creative green space and mentioned ideas such as extending the Orange Line into the 18th Ward. > "And people just want you guys to be a little bit more creative in terms of the green space." > — Ald. Julia M. Ramirez (12th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sept. 22, 2026 Ald. Michelle A. Harris (8th Ward), who said she grew up going to Ford City Mall, backed the plan. ## How did it get here? The application was filed in July 2025. Curtis held community meetings in September 2025 and September 2026, the developer's attorney said, and the Chicago Plan Commission recommended the plan on Aug. 20. The zoning committee approved a substitute ordinance on Sept. 22 after about 40 minutes of debate. At the Sept. 23 Council meeting, the City Clerk also read in a communication opposing the rezoning of the Ford City property. ## What happens next? The developer told the committee it intends to buy the property by the end of this year and move promptly to demolition and site preparation. A development executive said construction would take about two years, finishing in early 2029. A complex demolition like this one requires detailed plans filed with the City and an additional community meeting as part of the permit, the executive said. That meeting is the next public chance to ask about demolition, soil testing and truck routes. Residents can reach the 18th Ward office, and Sigcho-López asked that the soil test results be shared through the committee chair. > "This project represents nearly $200 million in new investment on the southwest side." > — Ald. Derrick G. Curtis (18th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sept. 22, 2026 How each ward voted: [SO2025-0018864](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/SO2025-0018864-zoning-reclassification-map-no-18-k) ## Legislation in this story - [Zoning Reclassification Map No. 18-K at 7600-7400 S Kostner Ave and 7601 S Cicero Ave - App No. 22814](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/SO2025-0018864-zoning-reclassification-map-no-18-k) (SO2025-0018864) ## Sources 1. City Clerk: [SO2025-0018864: Zoning Reclassification Map No. 18-K at 7600-7400 S Kostner Ave and 7601 S Cicero Ave - App No. 22814](https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Matter/?matterId=62C01397-6366-F011-BEC1-001DD80DE488) 2. City Clerk: [SO2025-0018864, Legislation: O2025-0018864 Ordinance.pdf](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/matterattachmentspublic/20566dcf-5b8e-4738-bb9c-395a52322a76.pdf) 3. City Clerk: [SO2025-0018864, Exhibits: O2025-0018864 Statements and Plans.pdf](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/matterattachmentspublic/48b78a88-d2ce-44cf-8623-d2dcd6e042b6.pdf) 4. City Clerk: [SO2025-0018864, Committee Letter: ZLB Letter 9-22-2026.pdf](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/matterattachmentspublic/50846c8e-bd64-4234-829d-b388e554ab72.pdf) 5. City Clerk: [SO2025-0018864, Legislation: SO2025-0018864 Final Ordinance.pdf](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/matterattachmentspublic/5195e154-0a46-4a6a-bd6b-8effcadb006a.pdf) 6. City of Chicago: [City Council, Sep 23, 2026: meeting video](https://vimeo.com/1229341127) 7. City Clerk: [City Council, Sep 23, 2026: Notice](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/meetingattachmentspublic/0453fb95-f485-f111-ab0e-001dd8036800.pdf) 8. City Clerk: [City Council, Sep 23, 2026: Agenda](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/meetingattachmentspublic/3c45558c-4276-444e-8e33-940aedd27693.pdf) 9. City of Chicago: [Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sep 22, 2026: meeting video](https://vimeo.com/1227817475) 10. City Clerk: [Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sep 22, 2026: Notice](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/meetingattachmentspublic/164a0bd1-2fb7-44c8-9967-17f69c8ce381.pdf) 11. City Clerk: [Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sep 22, 2026: Agenda](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/meetingattachmentspublic/991474ce-af21-45e9-8c14-19fcdb315402.pdf) 12. Chicago Politics: [SO2025-0018864: votes, timeline and summary](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/SO2025-0018864-zoning-reclassification-map-no-18-k) 13. Chicago Politics: [City Council, Sep 23, 2026: transcript](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/1229341127.txt) 14. Chicago Politics: [Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Sep 22, 2026: transcript](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/1227817475.txt) 15. City of Chicago: [Neighborhood and community area boundaries (Chicago Data Portal)](https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/y6yq-dbs2) On the map: [West Lawn](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/neighborhoods/west-lawn), [Ashburn](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/neighborhoods/ashburn), [18th Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/18) --- Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/west-lawn-ford-city-mall-industrial-campus-rezoning · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt