As per the announcement on Thursday, a lakefront site on South Side Land in Chicago, which was formerly the world’s largest steel mill, is going to be turned into a multibillion-dollar quantum computing campus by PsiQuantum.
PsiQuantum CEO and co-founder Jeremy O’Brien revealed in his statement, “Quantum computers have held theoretical promise for decades, but it’s infrastructure projects like the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park that are required to develop this technology and scale from hype to reality,”
It is said Related Midwest will manage the site with real estate developer and investment firm CRG, and Clayco, a downtown-based firm, will lead the construction.
Reports have revealed that the multi-billion-dollar facility will be about 300-thousand-square-feet, and will be up and running by 2027. PsiQuantum is expecting to create over 150 jobs within 5 years.
Spokespeople for Gov. JB Pritzker said, “With the support of our federal partners, Illinois’ quantum campus will generate the sort of competitive research that has driven our most important American innovations, all while injecting billions of dollars into our state’s economy and creating hundreds of local jobs,”
Local officials have said that the Quantum campus has an estimated cost of $9 billion but can generate $20 billion over the next 10 years.
However, people have been curious to learn the specifics, i.e., how the production is going to benefit them.
City officials are also unsure of the potential environmental impact the campus may have on the land. Furthermore, there are yet no reports on whether the land is contaminated.
Local community activist A. Anne Holcomb has expressed her honest opinions on the project, “We want community benefits; we want environmental protections. We want jobs. We want job training.”
City officials have expressed uncertainty about whether the land will be chosen for the campus because of the lack of public meetings.
