The Reinsdorf and Wirtz families on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to remake the Near West Side neighborhood around the United Center, replacing unsightly parking lots with publicly available green spaces, a 6,000-seat music hall and thousands of new homes.
The families jointly own the 30-year-old United Center, home to the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks, and said their new plan, dubbed the 1901 Project, would be more than a sports-focused district.
“It’s going to be a new neighborhood with the United Center as its anchor,” said United Center CEO Terry Savarise.
Savarise estimates the 1901 Project will take at least a decade and $7 billion to complete. Most of the funds will come from private sources, although the site may need transportation upgrades, such as a new CTA Pink Line stop on its eastern edge, that would require government investments.
The United Center’s vision is the latest in a string of developer proposals to remake whole swaths of land near downtown. Related Midwest wants to create a new neighborhood called The 78 just southwest of the Loop with a new Chicago White Sox stadium as its centerpiece. A coalition of developers led by Farpoint Development aims to build a 7 million-square-foot innovation hub on the former site of Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville, and Sterling Bay secured approval in 2019 for plans to transform 53 acres of vacant land along the Chicago River in the Near North Industrial Corridor into the $6 billion Lincoln Yards.
Those projects are off to a slow start, with few groundbreakings so far, but Savarise said his development team is ready to go. They want to break ground on the privately financed music hall as early as next year, along with several new parking facilities.
The United Center has not yet submitted an official proposal, but the Johnson administration is so far looking favorably on the project, said Ciere Boatright, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.
“There has been no request for financial assistance,” she said. “And from a land use perspective, this is an exciting opportunity to reverse decades of parking lot expansion and restore the traditional neighborhood development pattern.”
Once the United Center submits its proposal, it needs approval from the Chicago Plan Commission, then the full City Council, which could come by the end of the year, Boatright added.
Savarise said although the development will predominantly use private funds, the developers will explore the possibility of tapping into a neighboring tax increment financing district.
Transforming stadiums into mixed-use communities has become a common strategy to build value, said Craig Cassell, Cushman & Wakefield’s global leader for sports and entertainment.
“It’s a national trend, and candidly, it’s an international trend as well,” he said.
He pointed to what the Ricketts family did with Wrigley Field over the past 10 years. The Chicago Cubs’ owners got rid of an empty lot, adding a hotel, a public plaza, new offices and retail, among other improvements.
“You can enhance the profile of your team and the profile of your community as long as you control the real estate around it,” Cassell said.
The United Center’s new multilevel facilities won’t look like standard parking garages, said Richard Peterson, senior project director with design firm RIOS. Each will have a rooftop park and be surrounded by retail spaces and cafes on the ground floors.
“We’ll do our best to disguise them as much as possible,” Peterson said.
The result will be a series of interconnected parks and green spaces all around the United Center, said Ernest Wong, principal of Chicago-based Site Design Group. Sidewalks will also be reconstructed so Near West Side residents and those attending United Center events can stroll on landscaped paths rather than dodge cars in the stadium’s parking lots.
“We’re transforming what are currently parking lots into significant green space accessible to everybody,” he said. “The West Side needs it.”
The new parking facilities will have up to three levels, shrinking the amount of land needed for cars, said Sara Disney Haufe, director of traffic engineering for Sam Schwartz, the United Center’s traffic consultant. And with more people using ride-share services and public transportation, especially if a new Pink Line station gets built, fewer total spaces may be necessary.
“We’re talking about right-sizing the parking footprint,” she said.
Savarise said the $796 million first phase, including the music hall and new parks, will create 4,000 construction jobs and up to 1,900 permanent jobs.
“While the project still requires city and community feedback, I am excited for the investment on the West Side, which is often overlooked for this level of private investment,” said Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, in a prepared statement.
It makes sense to start with the music hall, Savarise said. Chicago has enough mega-venues such as Soldier Field and a healthy ecosystem of small clubs but few midsize options for music acts and events.
And once the elevated parks and pedestrian-friendly walkways are also ready, potential residents will find the neighborhood around the United Center more appealing, much like nearby Fulton Market or the Illinois Medical District, where developers recently built thousands of new apartments.
The United Center developers plan to add up to 5,000 new units, most likely a mixture of rentals and condos built in multiple phases. They have already committed to the city that 20% of the new units will be reserved for affordable housing.
“A lot of people enjoy living in this part of town and we look forward to that trend continuing,” Savarise said. “The time just seems right.”
