Developer thinks big but loses way on One Central project

It’s been a while since folks around town have heard much from Bob Dunn, and that’s quite a switch from a few months ago.

Last spring and summer, Dunn, president of Landmark Development, was busy discussing the glories of his proposed One Central development west of Soldier Field. One Central is at the start of what could be a decades-long gestation. Its details are indistinct, and its estimated $20 billion price tag is eye-popping but fanciful at this stage.

Dunn sees his site as a spawn of the Loop, with a patch of high-rises sprouting from air rights he controls above the commuter rail tracks. Details remain subject to the whims of zoning and the marketplace. Some towers could be among the city’s tallest.

Dunn needed a few achievements in the public eye earlier this year. First, he had to distinguish himself from the developers behind the other mega projects, primarily Lincoln Yards on the North Side and the 78 south of downtown, that were relying on tax increment financing.

With a storm brewing over TIF subsidies to developers, Dunn refused to go that route. He needed a third party’s study to show his project would produce massive benefits. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce accommodated by commissioning a study showing One Central could support 70,000 permanent jobs and generate $120 billion in state and local tax revenue over 40 years.

Finally, Dunn needed legislative help. Having sworn off a property tax TIF, he and his investors needed the state to repay their front-end costs for putting in a public transit hub to serve One Central, Soldier Field and the museums nearby. That was to be the project’s first phase. Incredibly in a legislative session consumed with cannabis sales, casinos and income taxes, Dunn got his plan through. He sold lawmakers and first-year Gov. J.B. Pritzker, no freshman when it comes to business deals, on repaying the developers up to $5.1 billion, including interest, from future sales taxes the transit hub could generate. Think of it as a sales tax TIF.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot groused that Dunn got his deal “under cover of darkness.” That was harsh, since Dunn had toured the editorial boards and there was a public hearing. But the mayor perhaps was jealous — Dunn got his big ask from Springfield; she hasn’t.

Still, the mayor’s criticism and her vow to reform how mega developments are handled don’t bode well for Dunn. The project got blasted at a community meeting called by Near South Side Ald. Pat Dowell (3^rd). Others questioned the feasibility of a transit hub nobody but Dunn has asked for. Lightfoot said if money was to be spent on a transit project, why not in an area where people already live.

Dunn’s now at the next crucial point in his planning. By Dec. 31, he’s supposed to have an application in for a low-rate federal loan of perhaps $1 billion. The deadline looms because he’s applying for part of a Transportation Department program called Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing that’s due to lapse at year end, although applications before then are OK. “It’s a major economic advantage that may be captured if we can pursue the RRIF funding,” Dunn told lawmakers.

So how’s he doing with that? Dunn hasn’t been available, and a spokesman would only say, “There’s an active process underway but nothing specific to report at this point. I expect to have updates next month and will be sure to provide them at that point.”

There’s talk of a project redesign to address criticism. The Transportation Department didn’t respond to a request for comment. You tell me if the Trump administration will do a $1 billion favor for Chicago.

One Central’s problem goes deeper, though. It’s not central. It’s got the stadium, the museums and McCormick Place, but people have other ways to get there. Soldier Field is underused, even if the arrival of the Chicago Fire soccer club will give it some action in the warm weather. A transit hub needs a population and jobs. It needs a destination that would take decades to build.

“This is as big a project as we see anywhere in the country,” Dunn said in May. He’s got the credentials for thinking big, having been involved in well-received urban redevelopment around the country, including stadiums for each of the Chicago Bears’ NFC North rivals. So he probably can’t resist doing something to help Soldier Field.

However, his Daniel Burnham bravado risks the whole venture. Even if he puts up the cash, the feds, state and city shouldn’t ride that transit hub to nowhere.