The long, drawn-out process of turning the former Children’s Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park into something useful and vibrant got a serious kick in the pants today.

McCaffery Interests, which has been spearheading the project through its contentious days, has brought in Houston mega-developer Hines to help out with the project. It wants to start demolition soon to have the entire project completed in 2018.

Hines is also part of the muscle behind such major projects as River Point and Wolf Point, as well as smaller projects like 1225 Old Town. The full press release follows.