In the smoothest of media rollouts, the two famous families who own the United Center laid out plans Tuesday for a $7 billion private development that will transform the sea of Near West Side blacktop surrounding the multi-use arena into a verdant neighborhood with parks, multi-family housing, a hotel and a 6,000-seat indoor venue dedicated to music.
The clans Reinsdorf and Wirtz picked their moment carefully as the Democratic National Convention soon arrives at the 30-year-old United Center, along with the associated media attention for its environs. Had they known that Democrats would be amplifying the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 to spook voters considering Trump, the families might have picked a name other than the 1901 Project.
But that will fade. The 1901 Project will not happen overnight: the phased plans stretch out over at least the next 10 years.
In general, this is very good news for Chicago. The two families own this land and this is a development they are funding themselves, presumably acquiring various partners along the way. When we inquired about any public funding asks, the response at our meeting was that some minor infrastructure improvements might be needed from the public purse, which sounded reasonable given how much the city stands to gain from this level of private investment.
The obvious model here is the Ricketts family development around Wrigley Field, a multi-component project that has greatly improved the Wrigleyville entertainment experience and boosted the economic impact of the stadium (much of that revenue has gone into the family’s pockets, of course, but others have benefited too).
That said, Wrigley Field is in a neighborhood that never has experienced the kind of disinvestment suffered by the West Side. Replicating that kind of district, or “new neighborhood” in common developer parlance, is far more significant and beneficial on the West Side than the North Side.
As was the case with Wrigley Field, Project 1901 benefits greatly from the simple reality that the core venue already is built and in successful operation.
The charm of the United Center hardly is comparable to the Friendly Confines, but Chicago’s main arena functions well for many kinds of events and stays very busy. That means the development doesn’t have to deal with the eye-watering cost of a new central facility, which is what leads to begging trips to Springfield, nor does it have to deal with amassing NIMBY forces ready to fight a change of use at a new location. No one is being forced out of their homes here; this is a development sitting almost entirely on unloved asphalt. And it’s far from the lake.
There will be some losers.
We see the benefits to the families of this 6,000-seat music theater, which will give them a venue that offers far more seats than typical traditional theaters (the outdated Arie Crown Theatre, as a point of comparison, has 4,188 seats, Madison Square Garden Entertainment’s busy Chicago Theater has 3,600 seats and the struggling Auditorium Theatre has 3,875 spots) and thus allows for higher grosses. This new venue will be attractive to figures such as John Oliver, who don’t want to play impersonal arenas, but who did a “double” at the Chicago Theater last year and could make as much money in the new place by telling his jokes only once. It might also be possible for Chicago to fight back against the growing number of Las Vegas “residences” of stars such as Adele or Katy Perry. Why should Sin City have all of that business?
But there is no question that this new venue will pull business from the historic theaters in the Loop, vital to that still struggling neighborhood and surrounded by restaurants and other pieces of infrastructure. The Brandon Johnson administration also should remember it has done next to nothing about the gorgeous and historic Uptown Theatre, a potential catalyst for that diverse but economically uneven neighborhood but that still sits unrestored. That has to get done.
Also true: The venue will put more pressure on the city’s smaller arenas, such as the Wintrust Arena and the Credit Union 1 Arena at the University of Illinois Chicago. There is only so much high-demand product to go around, although competition is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you see this development as adding to the overall economic pie rather than slicing it in a different way. Time will tell.
We’ve long believed that this city badly needs development radiating out from the central core toward the south and west. That’s why we’ve been enthusiastic backers of developing The 78, a neighbor that offers connective tissue toward Bronzeville. When you really look past the hype, Project 1901 really is an extension of the booming West Loop, pushing the action yet further to the west. Some will worry about gentrification. We see more jobs and a far nicer neighborhood.
That brings us to the biggest benefit of this development: housing.
Everyone can agree that this city badly needs more dwellings. We heard of a variety of possibilities for these units, including rental property and condos aimed at different market segments. The Wirtzes and Reinsdorfs already have committed to make 20% of the new units affordable.
This will be the win-win element here. The two families will be able to develop this housing and use it to support retail and entertainment businesses, including the arena itself. Some would enjoy living so close to so much to see. Chicago would benefit from new residents and the new swelling of city coffers they would bring. We would urge the families, who have slated the housing for later phases of the project, to move at least a substantial chunk of the residential into the first phase.
When parking lots are removed, developers invariably argue that habits are changing and less parking is needed: There is some truth there, especially given the new Green Line Damen stop soon to open right at the edge of this project. But the dysfunction of the Chicago Transit Authority remains a barrier to which this project should pay attention; many still will drive for other reasons. Yet more importantly, the perceived safety of the area will be pivotal to the project’s success.
But these families have been at this site for decades, in the Wirtzes’ case through multiple generations and many economic cycles. They’re making a sizable bet not just on the possibilities of the West Side but on the future of Chicago itself. Many outsiders are down on Chicago and we’d argue there’s some self-confidence that needs bolstering too. So the bullish message being sent with Project 1901 is most welcome at this moment. We wish them well.
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