The Chicago Committee on Zoning has approved the massive redevelopment of the United Center parking lots known as The 1901 Project in the Near West Side. The approval comes around a month after the Plan Commission also gave the mega development the green light. This now leaves City Council as the final approval needed.
Rendering of 1901 Project by RIOS
Overall phasing plan for The 1901 Project Phase One by RIOS
The multi-phase project is being led by the Reinsdorf family, owner of the Bulls, and the Wirtz family who owns the Blackhawks, together they also share ownership of the United Center. In recent years, the families have been purchasing some of the remaining lots surrounding the venue, as a new generation also takes leadership of each of their businesses.
Rendering of 1901 Project by RIOS
Rendering of 1901 Project by RIOS
Overall, The 1901 Project will span 55 acres and cost around $7 billion to build with Los Angeles based firm RIOS working on the design of the master plan. Once completed in 2040, the project will deliver 9,463 residential units, 1,309 hotel rooms, 660,000 square feet of office space, 670,000 square feet of retail space, and 5,800 parking spaces.
Rendering of new music hall by RIOS
Site plan for The 1901 Project Phase One by RIOS
Work will begin on the southwest corner of the arena with three separate buildings anchored by a 6,000-seat music hall with ground-floor retail and rooftop park. Its swooping lines and glass facade will connect via a bridge to a new loading building with edge retail to the north. This will also be capped by a large park connected via a large ramp to the ground floor.
Rendering of new west parking building over loading dock by RIOS
Rendering of new west parking building over loading dock by RIOS
The surrounding areas and part of W Monroe Street will also receive a new pedestrian friendly treatment with planters, fountains, and added lighting. Additionally, a new 130-foot-tall hotel building will sit east of the music hall and contain 233 rooms with ground-floor retail and additional rooftop park space.
Rendering of new hotel structure by RIOS
Rendering of new music hall by RIOS
Once City Council approves the project, the development team hopes to break ground on the aforementioned initial phase later this year with a 2028 completion. With the owning families planning to fund the majority of this first phase and privately fund the following work. A more in-depth breakdown of the project can be found here.
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To the naggers, this project very much disproves that the city is against big ideas and monumental change.
Another massive redevelopment on the edge of transforming our city, but at the mercy of the financial lottery. I feel very different about this whole plan because it’s not some billionaire group begging for tax payer dollars from the get go. (Lincoln Yards, Sox Field, the 78, and Bears Stadium) This project didn’t start the conversation by first asking for handouts in the process.
The city WOULD be smart to push some incentives to get this thing moving faster if it could. Handouts suck, but the current federal government is about to crush future development in ways I’m not sure most can comprehend. The tariffs on steel and aluminum and all our Simpson Strong-tie parts coming from abroad… Either a lot of projects are going to be put on pause, or many properties are going to be lost and handed over to the banks. Only time will tell, I guess.
The city isn’t against big ideas that fall into their lap and make sense. This isn’t something we should attribute to the current administration, but rather broader (socio-)economic changes in this area over a couple decades and some other relevant sports area across the country that saw success with a similar model.
This is a fantastic project, but lets not give the city credit until they do something beyond ‘not being a blocker’ to this development. I agree on speeding up the timelines or incentivizing further density here.
“Across the country that saw success with a similar model..” Huh? They didn’t have to look any further than across town at Wrigleyville where you’ve got a new hotel, restaurants, new apartments and a movie theater, bowling alley, etc.
Comparing Wrigleyville to this site is vastly misguided. Wrigleyville was not only already an established community, it was a longtime established entertainment district with hoards of existing bars and other venues for a (much more dense) population to spend their money in. Adding to that existing apparatus was a no-brainer, not to mention the Cubs literally being Chicago’s team … outside of maybe the Bears. And that’s before we even get into the overall walkability of the area.
This project has none of that going for it. Don’t get me wrong, I love the UC and have gone to many games and concerts there. But outside of that – there’s simply no comparison with Wrigleyville, not by a long shot.
Occasional Yimby covers suburb projects. We’ll, the Wirtz family is also behind a large residential development in Mundelein, IL, called Ivanhoe Village. Any idea if this is still moving forward or have they shifted gears to the 1901 project.
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I am disappointed the first phase of this project is the 6,000 seat arena, and not housing. This new arena will be bigger than the Chicago and Auditorium theaters, yet smaller than Wintrust Arena. Is there really a great need for a venue this size?
Agree that another entertainment venue this proposed size is unnecessary .
What is needed are housing units , first and foremost .
Well there are people willing to bet about a billion dollars that another entertainment venue this size actually IS necessary lol
I agree that it seems weird that the music hall is such a priority that it becomes the first phase. Why? There’s already an event venue there. What the area needs next in order to develop further is 24/7 foot traffic, and you aren’t going to get that from one little hotel or another event venue. What that area needs first and most is residential population.
Nice to see those parking lots go but it’s sad that building anything in this country (besides bombs and strip malls) takes so damn long. I’m gonna be old, like legitimately outside of “middle-age” when this thing is finished.
This is all fine and good, but it should not be approved without a new Pink Line station at Madison Street. This should be a demand as a condition for this project to get approval and should, at least partially, be funded by the project developers.
Why should we saddle public projects onto private developers? Is developing this parking lot into housing a net negative in your eyes that should be compensated with somehow?
Your philosophy of extracting as much as possible from a win-win scenario is how we get left with no new development AND no new Pink Line station.