Kurv Industrial Wins Approval for 1.1M-SF Ford City Redevelopment

• 7601 S. Cicero Avenue, Chicago: Kurv Industrial has secured Chicago City Council approval to redevelop the former Ford City Mall site into a four-building industrial campus totaling approximately 1.1 million square feet.
• The $200 million project will include 904 passenger parking spaces, 216 loading docks and 160 truck parking spaces across the 62.4-acre site.
• Construction is planned to begin in Q4 2026, with completion targeted for Q4 2028. The project also includes a dedicated CTA bus terminal with four boarding lanes.

What Kurv Industrial Is Building

Kurv Industrial plans to replace the former Ford City Mall with four speculative industrial buildings designed by Nelson. The approximately 1.1 million-square-foot campus is being planned for warehouse, distribution and other industrial users, with individual buildings ranging from roughly 100,000 square feet to more than 300,000 square feet. The site is positioned between Cicero Avenue, 74th Place, Kostner Avenue and 76th Street. For industrial investors, the scale provides a significant new logistics footprint on Chicago's Southwest Side.

 

 

What The Industrial Campus Will Include

The master plan is designed to keep truck and passenger traffic within the property rather than pushing activity into surrounding residential streets. Passenger vehicles will access the campus from W. 76th Street, while trucks will use a dedicated entrance from S. Kostner Avenue. The buildings will feature modern industrial exteriors combining precast concrete with brick, glass and metal accents around entrances and office areas.

What The CTA Terminal Adds

The redevelopment also includes a new CTA bus terminal at the northeast corner of the property. The facility will feature four ADA-accessible boarding lanes, boarding islands and an operator building with private restrooms and support space. That transit investment adds a public transportation component to what is otherwise a major industrial redevelopment.

What The Approval Means For The Site

City Council approved the zoning change from B3-2 to M2-2 with a Planned Development designation. The measure passed September 23 with 50 votes in favor, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the project. The redevelopment follows the permanent closure of the mall after city officials cited serious safety concerns involving the property. The mall had been owned by Namdar Realty Group, which acquired it for $16.6 million in 2019.

What Comes Next For Ford City

With approvals secured, Kurv Industrial is targeting construction in Q4 2026 and completion in Q4 2028. The redevelopment will convert a long-struggling retail property into a large industrial campus while retaining some surrounding businesses outside the main mall redevelopment area. For Chicago's industrial market, the project also puts more large-format logistics space into a Southwest Side location where proximity to major freight infrastructure and Midway Airport has supported demand for warehouse development.