The city of Chicago is looking for developers to revive more than a dozen vacant lots near the United Center, ahead of the arena’s ownership kicking off construction on its $7 billion 1901 Project.
The city opened up requests for proposals last month for four clusters of city-owned lots, totaling 19 sites, along West Madison and West Fifth streets in the Near West Side and East Garfield Park. On Wednesday, it held a pre-submission meeting for interested parties.
Officials from the Department of Planning and Development said the lots are part of a broader push for more infill development that’s currently taking place on the West Side.
“There is a positive narrative around new housing and infill development occurring here in the community, some of which has been affordable,” Brian Hacker, planner at the Department of Planning and Development, said. “We’re seeing a good trend to fill in that long-time vacant land that has been an issue in these communities.”
The city’s proposal said it’s looking for “new neighborhood amenities and employment and residential opportunities to build on the momentum and growth that will come from The 1901 Project investment.” Developers should also knit together the surrounding blocks and support public transit ridership, according to the request for proposal.
Three of the clusters along Madison Street are south of the United Center. The city is looking for mixed-use developments on those lots such as apartments with ground floor retail.
For the fourth cluster, which includes parcels at 2900-2914 W. Fifth St., the proposal suggests a focus on residential development. That’s because Fifth Street lacks the same commercial corridor to support retail space, Hacker said.
Developers have until Sept. 30 to submit questions. Proposals must be submitted by Oct. 31. The city encouraged applicants to include on-site affordable units that are in line with the Affordable Requirements Ordinance, Hacker said. But there’s no requirement for proposals to be strictly affordable, or market-rate units.
“We’re leaving that open to the applicants to determine,” Hacker said.
He also said the timeline for announcing and awarding the projects hasn’t been decided. It’ll likely depend on the number of responses, in addition to coordinating with the local alderperson, including for the 27th Ward which saw Walter Burnett retire from the post this summer.
Planning officials said Wednesday that the parcels of land are near abundant transit options, including the Damen Green Line L stop that opened last summer. The lots are also close to the Illinois Medical District, a major employment hub.
Hacker said the 1901 Project will serve as a “front yard” for the United Center. While construction hasn’t started, he said work on Phase One is underway.
The arena’s ownership has said it’s the largest-ever private investment on the West Side. It’s expected to take 15 years, but once complete, it will have a music hall, thousands of residential units and open green space that would replace a sea of parking lots around the center.
“This is the big news in the area here, and we think it will be something that will hopefully drive a lot of development interest in the area, particularly in areas where there’s a lot of lots that have been sitting vacant and undeveloped for a long time,” Hacker said.