(Bloomberg) -- Chicago’s $6 billion Lincoln Yards mega development is in talks to receive new financing after delays in getting approvals from the city set the project behind schedule. 

The third-biggest US city has been slow to issue permits for the 53-acre development on the banks of the Chicago River, set to become a life sciences hub, and developer Sterling Bay is now in the process of recapitalizing the whole project, said Chief Executive Officer Andy Gloor.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot “put a brake on our entire project,” he said in an interview Monday, adding that that the delays set the project back by three years. “She fought the development, which is so puzzling to me because the economic impact in terms of construction jobs, permanent jobs and the ability to compete with some other cities. It’s in the $8 to $10 billion if you add it all up.”

A spokesperson with the mayor’s office wasn’t immediately available for a comment.

Sterling Bay is the developer behind the booming Fulton Market district in the West Loop, Chicago’s hottest real estate market. Delays to the firm’s new mega project are another blow for the city, which has been slow to recover from the pandemic.

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Chicago has also battled rising crime, which eventually cost Lightfoot her seat, making her the first mayor to lose a reelection bid since 1983. The departure of companies like hedge fund Citadel, Boeing Co. and Caterpillar Inc. from Chicago and its suburbs also dealt a psychological blow to the city.

Sterling Bay broke ground on Lincoln Yards in 2021, with construction then expected to last more than 10 years. The project sits in an industrial zone between two wealthy neighborhoods. 

The development includes 14 million square feet, with a large focus on office and laboratory space, and as many as 6,000 residential units. One building is now complete, and the company is in talks with multiple tenants on leasing.

Private Capital

Gloor said he already has refinancing interest from private individuals, with which the company wants to move forward.

He also added that Chicago had some 60 cranes in the air in 2017 and 2018 when Rahm Emanuel was mayor. That dropped to an average 11 or 12 during the Lightfoot administration.

“It’s absolutely fair to say that if Rahm Emanuel was still mayor, we might have eight cranes up in the air in Lincoln Yards right now,” he said. 

The Lincoln Yards project, which includes 14 million square feet of development with a focus on office and lab space, hasn’t been without controversy. Racial equity groups opposed the city’s allocation of a certain type of tax subsidy to develop property in a wealthy part of Chicago.

Gloor is optimistic that the project will take off when Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson takes over next week. Sterling Bay still needs to receive more permits, including those for infrastructure.

“I can’t say enough just of my initial meetings with Brandon and his team,” he said. “I’m super encouraged that he understands the importance of these large developments for Chicago.”

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