A long-vacant former steel mill site in economically struggling Chicago’s Southeast neighborhood is being transformed into a multi-billion-dollar, 440-acre quantum computing campus, with locally-based Clayco serving as early-stage general contractor.
The first anchor tenant is PsiQuantum, a Palo Alto, California-based quantum computing company that says it will build the first utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer in the United States. PsiQuantum will occupy the south side of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park adjacent to the shores of Lake Michigan. The company’s computer operations center will span more than 300,000 square feet and include additional space for future expansion.
The land at 8080 S. DuSable Lakeshore Drive was once the site of the U.S. Steel South Works factory but has been vacant for 30 years. Clayco says the new campus, which encompasses 120 contiguous yards, will be one of the largest contiguous waterfront infill properties in the country.
Related Midwest and CRG are co-developers on the site, and Lamar Johnson Collaborative is the lead architect for the first phase.
A quantum computer would require approximately one million qubits, the number needed to reach a critical threshold for quantum error correction, allowing it to produce highly accurate answers to computational problems that classical computers could never solve. Critical industries in Illinois, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, energy, materials, financial services and manufacturing, stand to benefit greatly from these quantum computing capabilities, according to a PsiQuantum report.
Conor Tighe, vice president of pre-construction management at Clayco, said traditional data centers rely on complex, redundant electrical system infrastructure and supporting HVAC systems to manage the heat gain generated by the racks.
Providing cooling equipment will also be a challenge for quantum computing centers.
“Quantum computing infrastructure requires cryogenic plants to provide liquid helium at temperatures close to absolute zero to support the processes required for quantum chip architectures,” says Tighe. “The design, BIM and commissioning of the liquid helium supply and return are key to the success of the entire project.”
The project has state support, as Illinois’ 2025 budget includes $500 million for the park’s development, including $200 million for the construction of a cryogenics plant to serve the cooling needs of PsiQuantum and other potential users.
“Right here, at our feet, we could be sparking a revolution in science and technology to make lives better,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a press conference here on July 25.
“Quantum computing has shown theoretical promise for decades, but infrastructure projects like the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park are needed to develop the technology and scale it from hype to reality,” said Jeremy O’Brien, CEO and co-founder of PsyQuantum.
Cook County will provide $5 million for the campus and a new property tax incentive program. “Other countries, particularly China, are investing heavily in quantum, and we need to accelerate our efforts to catch up,” said County Commission Chairwoman Toni Preckwinkle.
PsiQuantum is also building a $620 million utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia, as announced in April.
