Robbins Power Redevelopment Site
Robbins, Cook County, IL · Cal-Sag Channel, about 18 miles south of downtown Chicago
Overview
About 16 acres of former power-generation land on the Cal-Sag Channel, about 18 miles south of downtown Chicago. LandUp has the site under contract and is developing it as a power-first campus: a grid reconnection with a temporary gas bridge, targeting about 50 MW first and scalable toward 100 MW. No utility has committed capacity or a date.
Key facts
- Land
- About 16 acres · seven buildings to be cleared · about 217,000 SF of existing slab kept for reuseVERIFIED2014 ALTA/NSPS survey areas
- Potential total power
- About 50 MW first program, scalable toward 100 MW; subject to utility confirmationREPORTED
- Time to first power
- Gas power could start as soon as environmental clearance allows: about 6 months if part of the land can be released early, about 18 months if the whole site waits for a full No Further Remediation (NFR) letter. The substation and grid connection followESTIMATE
- First power
- Phase 1 size not yet fixed; the existing gas lines could support about 50 MW or more if the utility's review confirms themESTIMATE
LandUp's view
Our view
A power-first campus on a site with a generation history, canal frontage for cooling water and a large gas request. We are designing around a temporary gas bridge while the grid reconnection is studied, with the site laid out to grow in phases toward 100 MW. ESTIMATE
The path to power
Gas is likely ready at any time. The gates are environmental clearance and the substation. Phase II work decides whether some land can be used right away (about 6 months) or the whole site waits for a full NFR letter (about 18 months). ESTIMATE
What is not established
No utility has committed electric capacity or an energization date. The gas review result, the Phase II findings, zoning and the generator air-permit path are all still open. REPORTED
Power
- Pathway
- Grid reconnection with temporary gas generation as a bridge, about 12 to 24 months until a 138 kV connectionREPORTED
- On-site substation
- Decommissioned; a new 138 kV substation is planned in the north-east corner, where electrical equipment already standsREPORTED
- Utility capacity
- Not confirmed. Large loads go through the utility's cluster study; the next window closes Dec 10, 2026, and the utility has pointed to a later cluster in 2033 or afterREPORTED
- Air permit
- The state environmental agency has been engaged on fuel-cell and gas concepts. A minor-source path has a 90-day review if emissions stay under the limits; Cook County is an ozone nonattainment area, so the outcome could fall either side of the major-source lineREPORTED
Grid
- Nearest mapped substation
- A mapped 138 kV substation about 0.08 mi away; a 138/345 kV substation about 1.8 mi; a 345 kV line about 1 miESTIMATE
- Easement
- A 10 ft utility easement along the north line is the route for new power linesVERIFIED2014 ALTA/NSPS survey
Gas
- Existing gas lines
- Gas lines are already on site. The gas utility's engineers are evaluating the existing piping to confirm it can carry what it carried before, about 15,000 Dth/day. The engineering agreement is signed and the review is under way; written confirmation is pendingREPORTED
- What it could support
- About 15,000 Dth/day is roughly 69 MW of generation if firm; 50 MW needs about 10,800 Dth/dayESTIMATE
- Meter location
- An existing gas-meter pad stands in the north-east cornerVERIFIED2014 ALTA/NSPS survey
Fiber
- Fiber
- Two carriers report they can serve; one offers diverse routes; written quotes pendingREPORTED
- Carrier hub
- About 15 miles from the main Chicago carrier hubESTIMATE
Building and land
- Existing buildings
- Seven buildings (the four largest footprints are about 91,000, 80,000, 41,000 and 5,000 SF) to come down; the concrete slabs stay and new concrete is allowedVERIFIED2014 ALTA/NSPS survey; demolition is planned, not done
- Water
- An on-site retention pond stays and may supply cooling waterREPORTED
- Environmental
- Phase I inspection done and four tanks photographed; Phase II is next. Its result decides whether some land can be used early (about 6 months) or the whole site waits for a full NFR letter (about 18 months)ESTIMATE
- Survey and title
- A 2014 survey is on file; a current survey and title commitment are in progressREPORTED
Location
- Location
- Robbins, Cook County, IL, on the Cal-Sag Channel, about 18 miles south of downtown ChicagoREPORTED
- Rail
- Rail about 0.4 mi awayESTIMATE
- Flood
- Address is in the minimal-hazard zone; flood zones and a floodway lie within about 0.25 miVERIFIEDFEMA flood map, checked Oct 15 2026
- Zoning
- Parcel zoning not yet confirmed in writingUNKNOWN
What is and is not established
- Site control
- Under contract to LandUp
- Power pathway
- Grid reconnection with a temporary gas bridgeREPORTED
- Utility capacity
- Not confirmed; requests and studies in progressUNKNOWN
- Gas
- Requested from the local gas utility; engineering study under way; not confirmedREPORTED
- Fiber
- Two carriers report they can serve; quotes pendingREPORTED
- Environmental
- Phase I inspection done; report pendingUNKNOWN
- Title and survey
- Commitment and current survey pendingUNKNOWN
- Zoning
- Not yet confirmed in writingUNKNOWN
VERIFIED: seen in a document or on site by LandUp. REPORTED: told to us by the utility, an owner or a broker; not yet seen in a document. ESTIMATE: our estimate. CONFLICT: sources disagree. UNKNOWN: not yet established. Nothing on this page is a utility commitment or a development approval.