West Side, the Future of the United Center Redesigns Chicago’s Most Diverse Neighborhood

To date, Chicago’s West Side has been home to the United Center, a legendary venue for ice hockey and, most famously, NBA basketball, hosting the Chicago Bulls and perpetuating the legacy of Michael Jordan. However, in the future, the city’s sports and ice arena will become much more—at least according to the vision of United Center Joint Venture, the entity that owns the sprawling indoor sports complex that defines the skyline of one of Chicago’s most diverse neighborhoods.

Inspired by Chicago’s beloved motto, Urbs in Horto (City in a Garden), the stadium owners have unveiled a $7 billion urban redevelopment project. This ambitious plan spans a 220,000-square-meter (55-acre) area, slated for complete redesign with new residential housing, a commercial hub, hotels, and public parks.

The objective is to reshape the West Side, one of Chicago’s three largest neighborhoods, into one of the most attractive areas in America’s third-largest city, following the megacities of New York and Los Angeles.

For those moving to Chicago, the West Side has always been considered the gateway to the city. Known for its cultural, socioeconomic, and ethnic diversity, the neighborhood is home to nearly half a million residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Its population density is among the highest in the city, thanks to the United Center serving as the area’s gravitational core.

In the coming years, the neighborhood will undergo a dramatic transformation through The 1901 Project, a redevelopment initiative announced by the stadium’s owners, the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families. Named after the arena’s civic address on West Madison Street, this project represents the largest private investment in the West Side’s history.

Initially, the focus will be on the surface parking lots adjacent to the United Center. Plans include a 6,000-seat concert hall designed to host diverse musical, artistic, and cultural events; an elevated park on the western side of the campus, providing over 40,000 square meters (10 acres) of public space; and the redevelopment of parking and pedestrian pathways with enhanced lighting, roads, and bike paths for improved safety and accessibility.

Additionally, the project aims to revitalize local commerce by creating zones for retail and hospitality while addressing Chicago’s growing demand for housing, a challenge faced by many major U.S. cities. Investors intend to allocate 20% of the 5,000 new housing units for affordable housing, while luxury residences will further accelerate the neighborhood’s transformation.

According to the plan, the redevelopment could generate approximately 63,000 construction jobs and is expected to begin in spring 2025, pending timely city council approvals.

The stated goals include revitalizing an entire neighborhood, making it vibrant and interconnected, and stimulating economic growth through the introduction of new businesses and high-profile brands.

The stadium’s owners estimate that the redevelopment could have a direct economic impact of $9.5 billion and generate $40 million in tax revenue.

The heart of this transformation remains the stadium. The area’s redevelopment stems from the cultural and economic significance of the United Center to Chicago residents and beyond. As Matt Grunbaum, Associate Partner at Field Operations (the architecture firm leading the project), remarked: “Stadiums worldwide are reinventing themselves to be more public-facing and integrated into their surrounding communities.”

In the West Side’s case, the redevelopment includes an enormous elevated garden designed to immerse both residents and visitors in a vast urban park. This aligns with the urban renewal ethos and cultural preservation seen in many stadium projects, such as those led by the Webuild Group. In addition to building iconic stadiums in Italy, Webuild also constructed the Al Bayt Stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, which was designed in the form of a Qatari tent—a symbol of Arab culture representing hospitality and community.