I-290 Blue Line Private Investment
The 1901 Project: A $7 Billion West Side Investment
The 1901 Project is a massive, multi-phase $7 billion urban redevelopment project transforming 55 acres of surface parking lots surrounding the United Center, located on the near west side of Chicago two blocks north of the I-290 Blue Line Corridor. The Racine and the Illinois Medical District Blue Line Stations will serve this project. The project represents the largest private investment in the history of the West Side and is spearheaded by the Reinsdorf (owners of the Chicago Bulls) and Wirtz (owners of the Chicago Blackhawks) families through the United Center Joint Venture.
Key Features & Components:
- Entertainment & Public Space: A new 6,000-seat theater-style music venue, boutique hotel accommodations, and over 25 acres of dedicated green and open park space.
- Housing & Commercial Units: Approximately 5,000 to 9,500 mixed-income residential units (including 20% dedicated affordable housing), alongside extensive office, dining, and ground-floor retail space.
- Infrastructure: Structured parking facilities to replace surface lots, multi-modal pedestrian pathways (“paseos”), green rooftops, and potential transit connectivity improvements.
The owners broke ground on Phase 1 of the project on June 3, 2026. Phase 1 is a $500 million investment an includes a 6,000 seat music theater, a 233 room hotel, new retail space and a parking garage to be completed in spring 2028.
Have Questions?
(815) 287-0990
Current News
CTA secures funding for West Side transit improvement design, construction
The funding will support further design work on the Forest Park Branch Rebuild project and upgrades to the Division/Austin bus turnaround. The Chicago Transit Board has authorized a pair of intergovernmental agreements with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and with the city of Chicago that will fund transit infrastructure improvements across the city’s West Side.
New National Report Ranks I-294/I-290/I-88 Interchange as Most Congested Freight Bottleneck in the U.S.
New national data shows the interchange of Interstate 294 and Interstates 290/88 in the Chicago region is now the most congested freight interchange in the United States, underscoring the urgent need to advance the I-290 Blue Line Reconstruction Project. This project is widely considered the most important transportation project in Illinois.
Chicago’s I-294 interchange takes over as nation’s worst freight bottleneck
The interchange of Interstate 294 and Interstates 290/88 in Chicago has dethroned the George Washington Bridge interchange of I-95 at SR 4 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as the most congested freight bottleneck in the U.S., according to the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual Top Truck Bottleneck List.
Granite wins IDOT’s first-ever CM/GC contract for$350 million I-290 drainage project
Granite Construction has been selected by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT)for a construction manager/general contractor contract to for the I-290 drainageimprovements project in Chicago — IDOT’s first-ever CM/GC project.