The Chicago Plan Commission approved a proposal Thursday by developer Related Midwest to build a 22,000-seat soccer stadium for the Chicago Fire on The 78, the mega-development site just south of downtown along the Chicago River.

Related Midwest President Curt Bailey told commission members the company has been trying to figure out how to use the empty 62-acre site for eight years. Plans to transform it into Amazon’s HQ2 headquarters or the home of the Chicago White Sox fell through, but Bailey now envisions an $8 billion community rising alongside the Major League Soccer stadium, with up to 10,000 units of housing, including 2,000 affordable units, new retail, park space and riverfront amenities stretching from Roosevelt Road down to Chinatown.

“This will be the leap forward,” he said.

See Full Page