Onni Group Signs Horror Concept to Chicago Development Site

The only thing scarier than a haunted house? Trying to build 2,400 apartments in Chicago.

The Canadian developer behind a $1.1 billion apartment proposal near the future Bally’s Chicago casino struck a deal with Universal Destinations & Experiences to open a horror-themed entertainment venue on the same site, Crain’s reported. City officials are celebrating the move, but it raises doubts about the future of Onni Group’s long-stalled residential project.

Universal Horror Unleashed is expected to open in 2027 at 700 West Chicago Avenue, Mayor Brandon Johnson said. The venue will feature year-round haunted house experiences inside a 114,000-square-foot former Tribune printing plant, which Onni Group purchased in 2022 for about $45 million.

The venue will be the second of its kind after a similar Universal concept opens this summer in Las Vegas. The company is receiving EDGE tax credits from the state of Illinois and must operate the attraction for at least 10 years under the agreement, suggesting that Onni may be shelving its plans for a 2,451-unit apartment complex for the foreseeable future.

Onni insists that’s not the case.

The “strategic” lease “aligns with Onni’s broader development timeline” and offers “interim utility and activation of the space” while the firm works to secure approvals for its mixed-use vision, said Duncan Wlodarczak, the firm’s chief of staff.

Onni’s apartment plan has been held up for more than a year by opposition from the powerful SEIU Local 1 union, which called for a labor peace agreement and lobbied city officials to block zoning approvals.

Alderman Walter Burnett deferred a City Council vote on the proposal in May, citing an unresolved standoff between the union and developer.

“We’re in the middle of a chicken game,” he said at the time. Onni’s zoning attorney argued the labor agreement isn’t legally required and warned the delay was stalling job creation.

The Universal lease could be a hedge by Onni to activate the site and bring in cash flow while awaiting resolution; that, or a sign the developer is stepping back. It nevertheless marks a broader trend in Chicago’s downtown, where landlords of underused commercial sites are increasingly pivoting to immersive, entertainment-driven uses.

— Judah Duke