Portal:Chicago/Selected article/41
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108 North State Street is planned to be a mixed use urban center located in the Loop community area of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 3 building structure is being developed by Simon Property Group, as a project inherited from the Mills Corporation. It will be located on the square block bounded by North State Street, West Randolph Street, West Washington Street and North Dearborn Street that is known as "Block 37", which was its designated number as one of the original 58 blocks of the city. The project broke ground on November 15, 2005. On July 31, 2006, the construction phase began. The retail phase is now slated for completion in Fall 2008. The Mills Corporation has also been contracted to develop an underground transit center beneath Block 37 that will be jointly funded by the City of Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority and The Mills Corporation. The planned project includes a new subway station, track connections and a common downtown airport check-in facility for train service to both O'Hare and Midway airports. Both Block 37 and The Mills Corporation have histories of financial difficulties. Block 37 had been demolished in 1989 for a hotly contested redevelopment plan under the then new Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. The debates included the demolition of a former Chicago Landmark that was debated in the Illinois Supreme Court. The demolition proceeded, but the initial redevelopment plan fell through as did several subsequent plans leaving the block vacant and undeveloped for nearly a generation. The Mills corporation has itself been in financial difficulty in the past. This reputation and changing financial climate caused a delay in 2006 as contractors feared not getting paid.
