CHICAGO (CBS) – The long-vacant U.S. Steel South Works site on the Far South Side will be transformed into a massive quantum computing campus.
City and state officials announced Thursday that PsyQuantum will build the new Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, which will be home to the world’s first commercially useful quantum computer.
Chicago, Illinois – circa 1939: Men work at the Southworks Steel Works in Chicago, Illinois. Michael Ochs Archive / Getty Images
“This monumental project will revolutionize everything from healthcare to clean energy technology, creating countless jobs and spurring economic growth in the process. Together, we will solidify Chicago’s position as a global hub for technological advancement,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.
Remnants of the former United States Steel Corporation’s South Works manufacturing plant stand at Steelworkers Park in Chicago on March 2, 2021. Chicago Tribune
Officials estimate the campus will have a $20 billion economic impact over the next decade, including hundreds of construction jobs and 250 full-time jobs at the quantum computing campus once complete. Officials also estimate the facility will contribute to 175,000 new quantum computing jobs in the Chicago area over the next decade.
PSI Quantum
The Pritzker administration has earmarked a total of $500 million in the 2025 state budget for the development of Quantum Park in exchange for a minimum investment of $1.09 billion by Psychic-Ontum, including $200 million in financial incentives for the project.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – CIRCA 1939: View of the Southworks Steel Works in Chicago, Illinois. Michael Ochs Archive / Getty Images
Another $200 million from the state will go toward building a cryogenic cooling plant for the quantum computers, and officials said the 500-acre Southworks facility’s proximity to Lake Michigan and the Calumet River would provide the water needed for cooling.
“Our vision for Illinois as a global quantum epicenter is further defined with the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, providing endless opportunities for economic investment and innovation right here on the South Side,” Pritzker said in a statement.
The former U.S. Steel Southworks plant on the Far South Side closed in 1992 due to national changes in the steel industry. City officials planned a large residential and commercial development project on the site in 2010, but the project never came to fruition and the site remains vacant.
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