Per BVictor1 SSP
Bally’s wins final Chicago City Council zoning for casino
Gambling company’s $1.7 billion project set to move forward in River West
Chicago /
December 14, 2022 02:44 PM
By Rachel Herzog
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Bally’s notched a win Wednesday as the firm secured final Chicago City Council zoning approval to build a $1.7 billion casino on the 30-acre Tribune Publishing Center site in River West.
Though the council approved an ordinance and community agreement for the casino in May, the project had to go back through the zoning committee due to changes to the original plan.
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The vote was 39-5, with one alderman recusing and two absent and three recorded as not voting.
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The casino still needs approval from the Illinois Gaming Board.
Who goes to casinos anymore. I don’t know one person who goes to a casino.
As Bally’s seeks the Illinois Gaming Board’s blessing to develop a massive casino and entertainment complex along the North Branch of the Chicago River, the gambling giant is grappling with what may be a trickier hurdle: A hard-charging hedge fund that is said to be digging in its heels on a deal to vacate the site.
Still at issue—and becoming a bigger problem, multiple sources tell Crain’s—is a negotiation between Bally’s and Alden Global Capital, the New York-based parent of the Chicago Tribune that recently extended its lease for 10 years at the Tribune’s Freedom Center printing plant in the River West neighborhood. A Bally’s venture paid $200 million late last year for the massive printing facility and the 30-acre riverfront site on which it sits with a plan to redevelop the property into a 1 million-square-foot casino and hotel complex.
But that project hinges on Bally’s buying out Alden’s lease and helping the company find a replacement facility elsewhere, giving Alden, known for driving a hard bargain, substantial negotiating leverage as Bally’s seeks to develop the city’s first casino. Sources familiar with the negotiations said commercial real estate brokerage Colliers International is helping line up potential new sites, but that Bally’s and Alden remain far from an agreement on the financial terms that would compel Alden to relocate.
I could not take any information from the article as translating into the project being cancelled, it just has some hurdles to get over and deals to make.
But remember, cancelled and unbuilt are not the same. Unbuilt is more used in the sense that something will eventually be built, and is more synonymous with proposed.
„After months of negotiation, Tribune Publishing has agreed to leave the Freedom Center printing plant in River West by July 2024 to make way for Bally’s Chicago Casino.
Bally’s, which bought the 30-acre site last year, will give the newspaper company a “series of cash payments” in return for its commitment to exit the Freedom Center, Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said Thursday.
Kim did not disclose the amount of the payments to Tribune Publishing, but Bally’s may reveal more details about the relocation agreement during its first quarter earnings call Tuesday.“
Bally’s is hoping to commence construction on the casino-hotel in 2024 while aiming for a 2026 opening date.
I’m getting a Schuylkill Yards vibe here. Lets just hope they actually build a cluster of towers here
This is to be built north of the casino in phases and Goettsch is a worn as an architect.
700 W Chicago | Phase 1: 600 ft + 120 ft (56 + 11 FLOORS) | Future phases: 57 + 51 + 44 + 11 + 9 FLOORS
2,451 units | 1,950 parking | 2,541 (sic) bicycle parking | Goose Island pedestrian bridge
https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Matter/?matterId=4F1146F2-7722-EE11-8F6C-001DD809BD75
Way to much parking IMO
Currently Bally’s claims to be on schedule to take over the Chicago Tribune site in 2024 as originally planned, ready to kick-off their two-year construction plan soon after in order to open by 2026.