PULLMAN PROJECT EXPECTED TO BOOST TOURISM ON THE FAR SOUTH SIDE

Upon completion, the Positioning Pullman 2.0 project would be complete with a visitor center where tourist can go to learn the history of the Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side. Photo credit: Courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Upon completion, the Positioning Pullman 2.0 project would be complete with a visitor center where tourist can go to learn the history of the Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side. Photo credit: Courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Pullman Project Expected to Boost Tourism on the Far South Side

BY WENDELL HUTSON, Contributing Writer

If all goes well with a long-term redevelopment project in Pullman, organizers said tourism on the Far South Side could soar.

Upon completion, the Positioning Pullman 2.0 project, which stretches along Cottage Grove Avenue from 111th to 103rd streets, will feature a visitor center, hotel, pedestrian walkways, bike trails, public space, community rooms, exhibit halls, and the historic clock tower would be renovated.

And the project’s site, Pullman National Monument, was designated Chicago’s first national park on Feb. 19, 2015 by President Barack Obama.

“This project will sit on historic grounds and so it must be preserved in a way that keeps its original structure,” said Lynn McClure, senior Midwest director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “The visitor center could be open as early as 2021 but as far as when the total project will be complete, there’s no completion date for this project although ideally, I’d love to see it wrapped up in the next five years.”

The goal of the project, said McClure, is to redevelop old, historic buildings in Pullman as a way to improve the community from transportation to tourism, which she said would ultimately help boost the local economy as well.

“The nearby Pullman Park will be complimented by this project because it would bring more foot traffic to the community and that equates into more money spent at retail businesses,” added McClure.

Since 2015 when construction began on the Positioning Pullman 2.0 project, $56 million has been invested in the project and $200 million more could be spent, according to McClure, who said the project is supported by elected officials from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), whose ward includes the Pullman neighborhood.

Beale said the Far South Side is about to explode with tourism thanks to several projects underway including a proposal to make the Pullman Community Center, 10355 S. Woodlawn Ave., a Midwest hub for athletic events.

“Look for an announcement, hopefully this week about how tourism in the Ninth Ward will increase substantially with sporting events at the community center,” Beale told the Citizen. “And all the other projects from the Pullman Park to Positioning Pullman will help me attract a hotel or hotels to Pullman. In fact, I am meeting with hotel operators this week who are looking to put a hotel in the area.”

But there’s one missing link Beale said is needed to take the Far South Side to “the next level” and that’s a casino.

“Can you imagine the possibilities for the Far South Side if a casino is built nearby? We’re talking about Metra stations already in Pullman and the Bishop Ford Expressway at our front door, so transportation getting this way is no problem. And let’s not forget the Obama Presidential Center that will also be built on the South Side. Tourism is about to go through the roof for the Far South Side, an area rarely visited by tourists coming to Chicago.”

Last month, Durbin and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced new legislation to provide protection for the Pullman area. The Pullman National Historical Park Act 2019 would not only protect the National Park Service but also allow for land acquisitions at Pullman National Historical Park.

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