CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: United Center’s first phase of its $7B redevelopment sails through Zoning Committee
By: Abby Miller
The United Center’s $7 billion transformation of the area surrounding the arena is one step closer to getting shovels in the ground as soon as this year.
The City Council’s Zoning Committee approved rezoning the property around the United Center to create the new mixed-use district Tuesday, in addition to passing a landmark designation for an Austin church.
Dubbed the 1901 Project, the multiphase development would be built over the course of about 15 years. The project would include up to 9,463 residential units, 1,309 hotel keys, a music hall and other commercial spaces once complete. Twenty percent of the apartments will be affordable, according to ownership.
United Center ownership said it would be the largest-ever private investment on Chicago’s West Side.
The first phase of the project will be anchored by a 6,000-seat music hall. It will also include a public plaza, boutique hotel and parking structure with a rooftop park. About 47% of the land in Phase 1 would be open space, with a little over half of that from the parking garage’s rooftop park. Phase 1 is expected to break ground this summer.
Ownership has said the number of phases and the development included in each phase will likely change based on market conditions, though its Tuesday presentation included six phases. The final phase, near the site’s north end, would be open to the public in 2040.
Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), who serves as chair of the Zoning Committee, expressed his excitement for how the project will transform his ward — especially by adding “sorely needed green space.”
“This is a win-win for everyone,” Burnett said.
Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) applauded the United Center team for its community involvement and gathering feedback. He said the project will be “a great amenity to the city of Chicago” but questioned how transforming the parking lots will maintain necessary parking.
Katie Jahnke Dale, a lawyer with DLA Piper, representing the United Center, said the development team conducted studies on current parking usage around the arena. Occupancy on an average day is about 52%, Jahnke Dale told committee members.
Michael Reinsdorf, president and CEO of the Chicago Bulls, has previously said the United Center’s parking is about 75% full on a good day, and occupancy on an average day is about 50%.
Terry Savarise, CEO of the United Center, has also said the number of existing parking lot spaces will be replaced through the creation of new parking garage structures.
Ald. Bennett Lawson’s (44th) ward includes Wrigley Field, which saw its own transformation through the creation of the adjacent open-air plaza Gallagher Way. Lawson said what happened around the Chicago Cubs stadium is only a fraction of what will be created through the 1901 Project.
“This is huge,” he said.