July 23, 2024, 10:25 | Update: 10:56 a. m.
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO (AP) — The owners of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and the NHL’s Blackhawks on Tuesday unveiled a $7 billion plan to upgrade the parking lot surrounding the United Center with green space, mixed-income housing , a music broker 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 includes 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, as well as a hotel and advertising areas. Long-term stages include housing “encompassing units of other sizes and featuring affordable, luxury, and market-rate 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 allotment has some similarities to what the Ricketts family did with the estate surrounding Wrigley Field about ten years ago. In addition to renovations to the famous baseball stadium, 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 move out of the guaranteed rate zone on the South Side and build a new stadium as part of a baseball village in the city’s South Loop with green space, aspects and businesses. The 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 long-term home. . Both groups seek public investment for these projects.
___
AP Sports: https://apnews. com/sports