1901 Project Breaks Ground for $7 Billion Development

Yesterday, Chicago Bulls president Micahel Reinsdorf and Chicago Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz symbolically tossed a shovelful of dirt to celebrate breaking ground on the 1901 Project.

Reinsdorf called the event an “important milestone,” according to Crain’s. The 1901 Project has been two years and over $110 million in land parcel acquisitions in the making. The massive redevelopment of the parking lots that surround the Blackhawks and Bulls’ home — the United Center — is set to run $7 billion.

The makeover is set to feature a 6,000-seat music hall, 1,300 hotel rooms, 9,500 apartments, retail space and parking garages with rooftop green spaces. Around 20 percent of the apartment units will be set aside for affordable housing and positioned with transit in mind. One of the key elements of the development is connectivity, according to the outlet, and the families are reportedly asking the city to build a new CTA Pink Line station in the area by 2034.

Elected officials, including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, were in attendance. Wirtz told the assembled city leaders that the project was a continuation of their commitment to the Near West Side.

The goal is to turn the massive 55-plus acres of asphalt around the United Center into a space the community can gather and live in outside of sporting events. The megadevelopment has been delayed nearly a year, but is expected to have all six planned phases completed by 2040, according to Block Club Chicago. The 1901 Project was formally announced in July 2024.

The development was jumpstarted by a key tax break. Just weeks after the Chicago City Council greenlit a $55 million property tax incentive, ground was broken. The Class 7(b) tax abatement will lower the developers’ taxes for 12 years. The United Center-owning families have claimed that the development is privately-funded in the past.
— Hunter Cooke