The steel framework for Bally’s Casino is beginning to take shape along the Chicago River in River West. While the project’s single tower crane takes the hotel structure vertical, three giant Manitowoc crawler cranes are doing the heavy lifting here at the north end of the construction site.
The Bally’s Casino hotel tower is starting to sprout upward, as construction crews from The Chicago Community Builders Collective continue their work on the 34-story, 500-room hotel in River West.
Caissons are complete, the tower crane is up, and work has begun going 3-D on the sprawling Bally’s Casino site in River West. Both the 34-story hotel tower and the casino are anticipating a December 2026 opening, so time is of the essence.
Road closures are in place in River West to begin reconstruction of the Halsted Street viaduct at Chicago Avenue and the replacement of the Chicago Avenue Bridge over the river. The city estimates closures will be in place until summer 2026 on Halsted, and through December 2026 on Chicago Avenue.
Over the course of the last five days, the tower crane has been erected for the hotel tower at the new Bally’s Chicago Casino on the former site of the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center in River West. The sprawling construction site surrounded by Halsted Street, Chicago Avenue, and the Chicago River will see the casino built at the north end, with the 34-story, 500-room hotel placed at the south end.
