BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO: $7 Billion United Center Development Approved By City Council

blockclubchicago.org/2025/02/19/7-billion-united-center-development-approved-by-city-council/

By: Michael Liptrot

NEAR WEST SIDE — City Council Wednesday greenlit a $7 billion redevelopment plan for the area surrounding the United Center, with the first phase expected to begin construction this spring.

City Council unanimously approved the plans for the project after the Chicago Plan Commission OK’d the project in January and the council’s zoning committee signed off Tuesday. Dubbed the 1901 Project, it will transform 55 acres on the Near West Side into a sprawling campus with music venues, retail, hotels, green space and affordable housing.

The development is a joint venture the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who own the United Center and the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks.

“We set out to do something with no existing blueprint,” Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said in a statement Wednesday. “Our commitment is to create spaces that empower all generations, fostering a thriving community that enhances the cultural and economic fabric of the West Side.”

The first phase of development will include a 6,000-seat music hall, a 233-room hotel, retail space and two parking structures, according to plans. Construction will begin this spring and the development is projected to be complete in 2028, according to United Center staff.

“It’s a chance for our ownership groups to create something more than just going to the United Center for a game. It’s a chance to transform the neighborhood,” Bulls President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in October. “It’s not an entertainment district. It’s going to be something dynamic, something in the West Side that they haven’t had in a long time.”

Developers must still get building and construction permits before breaking ground. Each additional phase will require a site plan review from the city’s Department of Planning and Development alongside other city departments before being permitted for construction.

All six phases of the 1901 Project are expected to take 10-15 years to complete, with the final phase concluding in 2040, according to United Center staff.