Developer Neil Bluhm eyed using a portion of the building as the location of the proposed Chicago casino. McPier did not formally oppose the idea but raised the concern that the facility, though outmoded, still hosts dozens of events a year, many being overflows from particularly large conventions.
That was enough for Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who shares control of McPier with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, to knock the site out of the running, instead selecting a location in River West, near Chicago and Halsted.
Crain’s reported earlier this year that, in the wake of the casino decision, McPier was expected to seek alternative uses for the Lakeside Center.
McPier’s problem is that, while still frequently used–for instance, it houses the kitchen used to serve the entire McCormick Place campus–the building needs an estimated $400 million of work, including a new roof, according to a two-year-old estimate. The agency could struggle to come up with that money since its business has only partially recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ergo, the search for a new source of cash.