July 23, 2024, 10:25 | Updated: 10:56 a. m.
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO (AP) — Owners of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks unveiled a $7 billion plan Tuesday to upgrade the parking lot surrounding the United Center with green space, mixed-income housing, a music corridor and more.
Project 1901, billed as the largest personal investment on Chicago’s West Side, was led by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who owned the arena. It would be built in stages on more than 55 acres of personal land over an era of about ten years from next. spring, if approved through the city.
“Project 1901 represents our families’ continued commitment to the long-term life of Chicago’s West Side,” Bulls CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “This investment will create a thriving, interconnected neighborhood, bringing significant benefits and resources to the grid we have. called home for a long time. “
The first phase plans a 6,000-seat theater, a multi-level parking garage with more than 10 acres of public green space on its roof, more pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and motorcycle lanes, and a hotel and commercial areas. with housing “spanning different unit sizes and featuring affordable, market-rate, and luxury housing,” as well as transportation improvements.
“While this is just the beginning, we have already begun collaborating with our neighbors and network partners to identify spaces of opportunity for network wealth generation from this personal investment,” Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said in a statement. “We have the opportunity to expand on a legacy that makes all of Chicago proud. “
The 1901 Project has some similarities to what the Ricketts family did with the domain surrounding Wrigley Field about a decade ago. In addition to renovations to the famed ballpark, the owners of the Chicago Cubs replaced a parking lot with a plaza and built a hotel and workplace for the team.
The Chicago White Sox, also owned by the Reinsdorfs, will vacate Guaranteed Rate Field on the South Side and build a new stadium as a component of a baseball village in the city’s South Loop with green space, apartments and businesses. The NFL’s Chicago Bears are looking to build an enclosed lakefront stadium next to Soldier Field as part of a reimagined museum campus, and they also own a 326-acre parcel of land in suburban Arlington Heights that could also be the site of a house long-term. Both groups seek public investment for these projects.
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