Photo Credit: Chicago’s 1901 Project rendering by Proloog/RIOS

Chicago’s 1901 Project, a plan to redevelop the area surrounding the United Center to create a mixed-use entertainment hub, has broken ground.

Last week, Chicago’s 1901 Project broke ground with a $7 billion plan to redevelop the area surrounding the United Center to create a massive mixed-use entertainment hub. First introduced in 2024, the project will include a 6,000-capacity theatre, nearly 10,000 apartments, hotels, extensive retail and office spaces, parking garages, and public gathering spots across the 55-acre plot around the 23,500-capacity venue.

The initiative is being led by United Center’s co-owners, the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who are also the respective owners of the venue’s sports tenants, the Chicago Bulls (NBA) and Chicago Blackhawks (NHL).

The United Center has been surrounded by surface parking lots for years that leaders say are only about half-full on a typical day. Much of this space will become a mixed-use district cradling the arena. The United Center sits on Chicago’s Near West Side, a neighborhood defined by wide industrial corridors, residential pockets, and major transit routes. The arena is located just west of downtown, bordered by the Eisenhower Expressway and key arterial streets like Madison and Damen. Historically, the immediate area has been dominated by surface parking lots, light industrial buildings, and underutilized land tied to event-day traffic patterns.

The project’s first phase, valued at $500 million, will be anchored by a 6,000-seat music hall that will host 150 events annually. It will also involve a hotel, retail space, and two parking garages, with rooftop green space. Bike lanes, enhanced pedestrian walkways, and other infrastructure improvements are also planned.

“This is an investment that will create jobs and housing, attract new businesses, generate economic activity, and help ensure that the benefits of growth reach the residents and families who call the West Side home,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Notably, the Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright said the development is taking an “inclusionary approach,” with United Center’s owners having emphasized hiring locally for construction jobs. To that end, the 1901 Community Implementation Committee was created to bring community members in and give them the skills needed to become subcontractors on the project.