As the Chicago Bears consider whether to build a new stadium on the former Arlington International Racecourse land they own, remain at Soldier Field or consider invitations to move from other municipalities, Waukegan has several potential lakefront sites to consider.
One of the parcels — the former Johns Manville site north of Greenview Avenue — is more than 300 acres, rivaling the onetime racetrack in size. Two other locations just north of the city beach can be combined into a 90-acre site.
City officials currently look forward to listening to proposals from potential developers, including the Bears, on nearly 400 acres north of the beach to turn the site of onetime Rust Belt factories into something suitable for the 21st century.
Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor wrote to Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren June 12 inviting the team to consider Waukegan as a location for its new stadium. She mentioned it as a way to keep the team playing its games along Lake Michigan, as it does now.
In her letter to Warren, Taylor mentioned Waukegan has developable land on the shores of Lake Michigan. She said it is a way for the Bears to build a new stadium and continue to play their games along the lakefront.
Bears senior vice president for marketing and communications Scott Hagel said in an email June 13 that a June 2 statement issued by the team said, “It’s our responsibility to listen to other municipalities.”
Taylor said the team has not contacted the city yet, but she and other officials are looking for ways to entice developers to the lakefront, downtown and other parts of Waukegan, like the casino now operating a temporary facility near the Lakehurst shopping center.
“We look at this as a partnership,” she said. “We want developers to see what Waukegan has to offer, and the opportunities we have here. We are a growing city.”
Whether the Bears or some other developer wants to explore development in Waukegan, Noelle Kischer-Lepper, the city’s director of planning and economic development, said the city is ready to work with them.
When a developer approaches the city, Kischer-Lepper said the first thing she does is listen so she understands their needs, whether it is a stadium for the Bears or a different type of project. The lakefront locations are unique in their own way.
Waukegan’s natural harbor is a peninsula extending east, bounded by a bending Sea Horse Drive on the north and east. Kischer-Lepper said it is 36 acres. North of Sea Horse Drive are 63 acres. It is a former industrial site. The parcels could be combined.
Kischer-Lepper said a portion of the 36-acre parcel and all of the larger one are U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund sites because of contamination left by factories once there.
A soil management plan with the EPA is in place on the smaller lot, where Kischer-Lepper said a sufficient amount of soil is being placed on top of the existing surface to make it suitable for development. A plan needs to be filed for the larger tract.
Another obstacle to developing the two parcels is an abandoned Canadian National Railway track, which ends near Greenwood Avenue. Taylor said she would not comment on a solution to the railroad issue at this time.
North of the decommissioned coal-fired power plant along the lakefront at Greenwood Avenue lies more than 300 acres where a Johns Manville plant once operated. It is similar in size to the former Arlington racetrack.
Though the larger parcel is a Superfund site, it is north of the Canadian Railway tracks, removing them as an obstacle. Kischer-Lepper said the land is privately owned by a corporation.
Whenever there is a developer interested in private land in Waukegan, she said she is willing make introductions and become as involved as the parties want the city to be.
“Any time we can we’ll work with the parties to try to find a solution,” Kischer-Lepper said. “We’ll make an introduction, and stay as involved as they want us to be.”
Whether the Bears like the idea of landing on Waukegan’s lakefront, another part of the city or elsewhere in Lake County, Kevin Considine, the president and CEO of Lake County Partners, said a professional football stadium in the area would be huge.
“It could be transformative for the neighborhood it lands in,” he said, “It would be a massive investment, which has a big ripple through the entire economy. There would be tons of jobs at the stadium and the nearby neighborhood.”