On August 20, the Chicago Plan Commission unanimously approved a $70 million development at Pershing Road and State Street, Block Club Chicago reported. A 70,000-square-foot Pete's Fresh Market would anchor it. Most of the coverage reads as if the store is on its way. The approval itself was narrower than that. It covered zoning for a piece of land that the city, the Chicago Housing Authority and Chicago Public Schools have owned in separate parcels. That split ownership is what has held up a Bronzeville Pete's since 2018.
This matters for your weekly grocery run because the steps still ahead are mostly about land too. So for the next couple of winters, the stores you already use are the ones you'll keep using.
What the Plan Commission Actually Passed
The proposal covers the former Stateway Gardens site. Developer Zeb McLaurin told Block Club that the first phase would build the Pete's and several commercial buildings, with construction starting in early 2027 and finishing by fall 2028. The Chicago Sun-Times reported a mid-2028 finish. It listed a medical office for outpatient care, a hardware store, a restaurant and a bank in that first phase, along with 378 parking spaces, many of them in front of the grocer.
The two outlets give different housing numbers for the second phase, which sits north of Pershing Road. Block Club reported 517 units. The Sun-Times cited plans filed with the City Council for up to 551 apartments. Both say 20% would be affordable. Block Club noted that this second phase has no estimated start date.
According to the Sun-Times, Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said on Facebook that there is a letter of intent for Pete's to occupy the project. Neither outlet reported a signed lease.
Dowell and Plan Commission Vice-Chair Andre Brumfield recused themselves from the vote. The site is in Dowell's ward, and Brumfield is a principal architect at Gensler, which is involved in the project.
Eight Years on One Corner
The timeline shows why the August approval is easy to over-read.
- 2018. Dowell announced a Pete's Fresh Market for the former Stateway Gardens site and the demolished Crispus Attucks Elementary at State and Pershing.
- 2020. The Save A Lot in Bronzeville closed.
- 2022. McLaurin announced that his company was finalizing a development schedule with Pete's for a 60,000-square-foot store and forecast a groundbreaking that year. Neither the groundbreaking nor the opening he expected the following year happened.
- June 2024. Block Club reported that the land was still empty. Parcels on and near the site belonged to the city, the CHA and CPS, and the city's Department of Planning and Development said the land swap needed for the deal had not happened.
- July 2026. At a 3rd Ward town hall, McLaurin presented a revised plan with a 70,000-square-foot store.
- August 20, 2026. Plan Commission approval.
In July, Block Club covered that town hall. McLaurin described the work of coordinating parcels among the City, the CHA, CPS and HUD, a job made harder while the CHA's CEO post sat vacant. Dowell named rising construction costs and the pandemic among the reasons for the delays. Then McLaurin told the room:
"All the obstacles are behind us now, and we've got a clear path forward."
Dowell was more guarded. According to the same Block Club report, she told residents, "I'm nervous about bringing this presentation to you tonight because I don't want anything to go wrong."
The Next Milestones Are Land Steps
What happens between now and a groundbreaking is spelled out in public records.
The zoning change is filed as Map Amendment No. 23087, document O2026-0025393. The applicant is P.S. Bronzeville, LLC, and the listed owners are P.S. Bronzeville, LLC and the City of Chicago. It was referred on May 20, 2026, and appeared on the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards agenda for October 13. The amendment covers addresses along State, Dearborn and Federal Streets from Pershing Road to 40th Street, and it expands the boundaries of Planned Development 1143. After committee, the full City Council has to approve it. You can follow the matter's status in the City Clerk's legislative record.
The project also needs the city to vacate and dedicate a segment of the Dearborn Street right-of-way. The development team is aiming to finish that by the first quarter of 2027, per Block Club. McLaurin told residents in July that he hoped to finish city entitlements in that same quarter and start building as soon as the weather allowed.
Put those dates in order. The earliest construction start lines up with the end of a street vacation, and a street vacation is a land transaction. Four years have already passed since the 2022 groundbreaking forecast. Even the developer's own schedule puts a working Pete's at least one full year after shovels go in. If everything stays on schedule, the winters of 2026-27 and 2027-28 will look the same as last winter at the checkout line.
Where the Groceries Are Until Then
The new store would sit between State Street and the Dan Ryan, with trees planted between the site and the expressway. It would land at almost the same cross street as the neighborhood's largest existing supermarket. Here is the current map:
| Store | Address | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Mariano's Bronzeville | 3857 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. | Opened in 2016 at 38th and King, about the same latitude as the Pete's site |
| Jewel-Osco, 34th St. & King Drive | 443 E. 34th St. | Serves the northern end of the neighborhood |
| One Stop Foods | 4301 S. Lake Park Ave. | Independent grocer, listed in Experimental Station's Link Match directory |
| Bronzeville Farmers Market | 4700 S. King Dr. | Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the 2026 season ran June 7 to September 27 |
Both Mariano's and the planned Pete's sit at roughly 38th Street, one on King Drive and the other on State. A household west of the Green Line would gain the most from a store on State. People who shop on the King Drive side today would get a second large option a short drive west.
The farmers market season ended about a month before this post. That leaves the three year-round stores in the table for the cold months. In Block Club's 2024 story, Bernard Loyd, founder of Urban Juncture and the entrepreneur behind the restoration of The Forum, said he would leave Bronzeville to shop at the Pete's in Brighton Park. He added that a location easy to reach from the Dan Ryan and public transit would be a boon for the area.
What Changes on the Street Before the Store Opens
Some of the first changes residents see may be on the sidewalk. The plan includes improved crosswalks, pedestrian refuge islands, bike-safety upgrades and an extension of 38th Street between State and Dearborn. The developers have also agreed to travel-demand strategies meant to get residents and employees walking, biking and taking transit instead of driving. The development team says the project would bring more than 200 full-time jobs and about 150 temporary construction jobs, and that it would meet or exceed the city's 50 percent local hiring requirement. The Sun-Times put the permanent job count at 225.
The 38th Street extension also depends on the Dearborn right-of-way work. That puts it on the same land timeline as the store. The Clerk's record for O2026-0025393 and the Dearborn vacation are the two items to watch through early 2027.
If you own near Pershing and State and want to know how a planned anchor like this one, still moving through approvals, fits into what your home is worth today, Vergis Eiland can walk you through recent sales around the site and how buyers are weighing what has been approved against what has been built. Request Your Free Home Valuation.
