Overview
- Construction formally began with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday as developers started work on the first phase of the 1901 Project around the United Center.
- Phase one, valued at about $500 million, will include a 6,000-seat music hall, a roughly 180–233-room hotel, retail and restaurant space, two parking structures, and is targeted for completion in Spring 2028.
- The City Council approved a roughly $54.7–$55 million property-tax incentive through Cook County’s Class 7b program that stages reduced tax rates over 12 years and developers say this subsidy is material to financing the first phase.
- Project leaders and city officials have created the 1901 Community Implementation Committee to push local hiring and subcontractor training, honoring the late community organizer Jerry Lewis who helped shape those plans.
- The full master plan covers more than 55 acres and six phases through about 2040, aims to deliver nearly 9,500 housing units with a 20% affordable set-aside, and includes proposed transit and street upgrades such as a Paulina Street Pink Line stop that remain under negotiation.