$60M Amazon facility in Pullman takes giant step forward - without property tax break

It looks like a long-vacant Pullman industrial site will be turned into a $60 million Amazon distribution center in time for the Christmas holidays - and without a lucrative "Class 6B" property tax break.

The City Council's Transportation Committee on Monday took the first concrete step to deliver the 200-job, 150,000-square-foot prize on a site at 104th and Woodlawn once owned by Ryerson Steel.

The land is owned by Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, a nonprofit created by U.S. Bank and run by David Doig, who served as planning and development commissioner and Chicago Park District superintendent under former Mayor Richard M. Daley.

In late January, Beale said the project would require Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration to expedite building permits and put a so-called "Class 6B" property tax break on a fast-track toward City Council approval.

On Monday, developers changed gears. They decided to forge ahead without the lucrative property tax break because they need to get the center done by mid-October - in time to start delivering packages for the Christmas holidays.

"We need to deliver this facility to our tenant by the fall of 2020 and the schedule does not allow for us to pursue a Class 6B incentive," said Curt Pascoe, director of real estate development for the Ryan Companies, developer and builder of the project.

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