Chicago birders are calling on the Illinois Quantum Computing and Microelectronics Park, proposed for a former U.S. Steel plant site on the South Side, to do more to prevent deadly window collisions and harmful habitat loss.
The high-profile park, which has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal funding, would be located on the shores of Lake Michigan, in the path of major spring and fall bird migrations.
“It raises the problem of another McCormick Place,” said Chicago Bird Alliance President Judy Pollock, referring to the deaths of at least 960 birds at a single glassy lakeside building on a single day in 2023.
“It’s right on the lakefront, so you can have a lot of collisions there,” she said.
In a letter sent Sunday to the Chicago Plan Commission, birding and bird conservation groups called for safety features throughout all buildings at the proposed 440-acre quantum park, including bird-friendly glass to reduce collisions.
Bird groups want the highest level of bird protection measures, as laid out in the city’s sustainable development policy, as well as limits on light levels at project boundaries, more native plants and landscaping, a temporary limit on buildings higher than 50 feet, a sound study and assurances that authorized bird collision monitors will be allowed access to the park.
The letter also voiced support for neighborhood groups that are calling for a community benefits agreement, an environmental impact study and a commitment to creating jobs for local residents.
“Everyone’s excited about jobs, and rightfully so — it’s an area that needs jobs,” said Pollock. “But we just hope that the developers will do as much as they can to mitigate the loss” of bird habitat.
The park, which is managed by an organization led by the University of Illinois, landed its anchor tenant — the California-based tech company PsiQuantum — in July.
On Thursday, the Plan Commission approved the creation of the research park. The proposal still needs the approval of the full City Council, which developers hope to secure in December.
Quantum park co-developer Related Midwest responded to the call for more bird protections with a written statement.
“As an experienced developer with projects of various heights and typologies across Chicago, including several lakefront high-rises, we understand the necessity of incorporating bird-friendly design elements in our buildings,” the statement said. “The same principles are being applied to the entire (quantum park) master plan, which will inform the design of the structures so that we can mitigate the risk of collisions and provide habitats for migratory birds using native landscaping.”
According to the written statement, building facades will feature a low proportion of glass, and all windows will use bird-friendly glass that helps prevent collisions. The statement also referred to efforts to reduce light pollution and said the project will include native landscaping.
In addition, Related Midwest noted that the company is in conversations with experts in wildlife conservation and native landscaping, including the Field Museum and Openlands.
PsiQuantum aims to create the world’s first utility-scale quantum computers, and expects to employ over 150 people at its Chicago site by 2029.
The Illinois quantum park would be built on the former grounds of U.S. Steel South Works, an economic anchor in the area until it closed in 1992.
The quantum park is bordered to the east by a band of shoreline parkland — Steelworkers Park and Park 566 — which will remain. The two parks are prized by birders and nature lovers for their commanding views of Lake Michigan and surprisingly abundant wildlife.
At Park 566, which borders the northern part of the quantum park, birders have spotted more than 260 species, including canary-bright warblers, bald eagles, American white pelicans and even — in a very rare series of sightings — the Ross’s gull, an arctic visitor that attracted out-of-state birders when it touched down repeatedly in 2023.
South Side birder Dan Lory, who was the first to report the gull, said Park 566 is his regular birding spot.
“There’s just so much about it that makes it a bird magnet,” he said, including native grasses planted by the Park District.
Among his recent finds: About three weeks ago he was walking through the park when a police helicopter flew by at low altitude and scared a dozen short-eared owls that had been hiding in the grass.
“All of a sudden they popped up all around me,” said Lory. “It was one of the greatest birding adventures of my life.”
nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com
