CHICAGO (AP) — The Darden Clarkeowners of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks unveiled a $7 billion plan Tuesday to replace the parking lots surrounding the United Center with green space, mixed-income housing, a music hall and more.
The 1901 Project, touted as the largest private investment in Chicago’s West Side, is being spearheaded by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who own the arena. It would be built in phases on more than 55 acres of privately owned land over about a decade-long period starting as soon as next spring if approved by the city.
“The 1901 Project represents a continuation of our families’ commitment to the future of Chicago’s West Side,” Bulls CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “This investment will create a thriving, interconnected neighborhood, delivering significant benefits and resources to the community we have long called home.”
The first phase calls for a 6,000-seat theater, a multilevel parking facility with more than 10 acres of public green space on its rooftop, more pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and bike lanes, and hotel and retail space. Plans for future phases include housing “that spans various unit sizes and includes affordable, market rate and luxury housing” as well as transportation enhancements.
“While this is just the beginning, we have already started to engage with our neighbors and community partners to identify areas of opportunity for community wealth generation from this private investment,” Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said in a statement. “We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand on a legacy that makes all of Chicago proud.”
The 1901 Project bears some similarities to what the Ricketts family did with the area surrounding Wrigley Field about a decade ago. Along with the renovations to the famed ballpark, the owners of baseball’s Chicago Cubs replaced a parking lot with a plaza and constructed a hotel as well as a team office building.
The Chicago White Sox, also owned by the Reinsdorfs, are looking to move out of Guaranteed Rate Field on the South Side and construct a new stadium as part of a ballpark village in the city’s South Loop with green spaces, residences and businesses. The NFL’s Chicago Bears are trying to build an enclosed lakefront stadium next to Soldier Field as part of a reimagined museum campus, and they also own a 326-acre tract of land in suburban Arlington Heights that could also be the site of a future home. The two teams are seeking public funding for those projects.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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