The company behind “The 78” development proposed in the South Loop said Friday the exit of the University of Illinois’ Discovery Partners Institute from the project opens up new opportunities for the site, including the possible co-location of dual stadiums for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Fire.
Crain’s Chicago Business reported on Friday that the University of Illinois is scrapping its plans to build a $285 million research and teaching facility called the Discovery Partners Institute, a new research and innovation center, in the South Loop on the proposed site of The 78.
Related Midwest, the site’s developer, planned to donate approximately an acre of land on the site to the University of Illinois for the construction of the institute. In a statement Friday, Related Midwest said it was “disappointed” by the DPI’s decision to exit, but the departure opens up “opportunities for new partnerships and site configurations.”
“Given its proximity to downtown, adjacency to the river and flexibility …