BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO: $7 Billion 1901 Project — West Side’s Largest Ever — Breaks Ground On Music Hall, Hotel, Retail Space

By: Michael Liptrot

NEAR WEST SIDE — A $7 billion makeover of the Near West Side got underway Wednesday as the massive 1901 Project broke ground in a venture set to overhaul a huge area surrounding the United Center.

The project includes turning the sea of parking lots surrounding the stadium into a dynamic village featuring restaurants, hotels, a music venue, parks and housing. Project officials say the development will be the largest ever undertaken on the West Side, with the overall timeline set to last over a decade.

“We didn’t want to create just an entertainment district, we wanted to add to the neighborhood that already exists here,” Bulls President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said at the groundbreaking ceremony. The project is led by Reinsdorf and Blackhawks Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz, whose families jointly own the United Center. “We wanted to bring housing, retail, restaurants, public spaces and new opportunities in a way that feels connected to the West Side and helps strengthen the community for generations to come.”

The first phase of development includes a 6,000-seat music hall, a 233-room hotel, retail and restaurant space and two parking structures and is set to be completed in Spring 2028, according to project documents.

The overall plans include 1,309 hotel rooms and 9,463 housing units, with 20 percent — or 1,893 — being dedicated to affordable housing. All six phases of development are projected to be completed by 2040, according to staff.

Renderings of the proposed music hall, which would sit at the southwest corner of the development at Damen and Adams streets, shows a modernist venue with a balcony, surrounded by a large lawn. A rendering of one of the two planned garages includes parks and basketball courts.

A traffic study conducted by developers included recommendations for protected bike lanes along parts of Damen and Adams streets and on Warren Boulevard, raised intersections at Adams Street and Wolcott Avenue and curb extensions at Adams and Honore streets and Adams and Wood streets.

Bulls legend Derrick Rose announced his partnership with the redevelopment earlier this year, although he wasn’t at the groundbreaking Wednesday.

The project, announced in July 2024, is expected to transform over 55 acres of parking lots surrounding the United Center. Since 2022, a Reinsdorf-connected company has spent $44.7 million buying vacant land used for additional parking surrounding the stadium, according to a Sun-Times report.

City Council approved the first phase of the project in February 2025. 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. Last month, the project received a $55 million property tax incentive which will see its taxes reduced for 12 years.

More information is available at the 1901 Project website.