Big changes may be in store for a four-mile stretch of land along the North Branch of the Chicago River. The city recently finalized a redevelopment plan for the area, and if the Chicago Planning Commission approves that plan later this month, the long-time industrial corridor could see a mix of condos, apartment buildings, office space and parkland in the near future.

The 760-acre strip from Kinzie Street to Fullerton Avenue has been largely off-limits to mixed-use developers since 1990 because it’s in what’s known as a “planned manufacturing district.” But pressure began to build to allow non-industrial development after Finkl Steel moved to the South Side a few years back. 

Morning Shift talks to Alby Gallun, senior reporter for Crain’s Chicago Business, about the history of this particular stretch of the Chicago River and what it’s future may hold.