Builders broke ground Friday in West Town near the former Lincoln Yards site on what will become the city’s only Cadillac dealership.
Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, said Cadillac could be the first of many businesses to open near or on the former Lincoln Yards site, now that Sterling Bay has exited and new owners have taken control.
“We’re looking at this as great progress, and it’s good to see Cadillac jumping in and moving so quickly,” said Waguespack, who sometimes battled with Sterling Bay over its plans for the Lincoln Yards development.
Jack Carter Automotive Group teamed up with Cadillac and bought the parcel next to the Kennedy Expressway at 1400 W. North Ave. from developer Sterling Bay in December for $15.5 million, according to county records.
Sterling Bay had envisioned developing a $6 billion community called Lincoln Yards nearby along the North Branch of the Chicago River, including skyscrapers of up to 600 feet, thousands of residences, riverfront parks, renovated bridges and an advanced life sciences complex.
It bought the parcel at 1400 W. North Ave., just outside the 55-acre Lincoln Yards site, in 2018, and planned to fill it with a five-story, 100,000-square-foot medical office building.
The developer’s ambitious dreams for Lincoln Yards and the surrounding neighborhood began fading after the pandemic. The office market collapsed, and the new tenants needed to fill the proposed towers did not show up. Sterling Bay also couldn’t raise the funds needed to reconstruct the infrastructure around Lincoln Yards.
Sterling Bay lost control of the site over the past year, but other developers seem willing to step in.
“We’ve been getting quite a bit of attention from businesses looking at different properties and wondering if they can fit in there, and it’s everything from small manufacturers to clothing, food and sports retailers. And the businesses that are there already are very happy to see some of the properties get filled in,” Waguespack said. “If you had 50,000 people coming through there every day to (Sterling Bay’s) towers, it would have been unbearable.”
Chicago builder JDL Development took over Lincoln Yards’ northern half last summer, later unveiling plans for a smaller, mostly residential development called Foundry Park. The Chicago Plan Commission approved the project in January, and the City Council gave it a thumbs-up the following month. Novak Construction purchased the southern half of Lincoln Yards for $34 million in January.
Carter Cadillac of Chicago will serve as the brand’s Midwest flagship operation, matching other flagship dealerships in Manhattan and Los Angeles, said Jay McKeen, president of Jack Carter Automotive Group.
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“We would like to bring a dedicated Cadillac luxury experience to customers in Chicago, employ the best people from the local area and support those we serve in the local community,” McKeen said.
Mount Prospect-based Joseph Nicholas Construction will be the general contractor.
Friday’s groundbreaking event showcased a Cadillac Formula 1 race car and a hand-built luxury sedan not available at many other dealers. Cadillac already operates dealerships in several Chicago-area suburbs, including Lincolnwood, Oak Lawn and Northbrook.
“We are incredibly proud to welcome this iconic name back home to the City of Chicago,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson in a prepared statement.