Demolition of newspaper building underway, US$2bn casino replacing it
30 August 2024
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim participates in a cermemonial demolition. (Image: TNS/ABACA via Reuters Connect)
The deconstruction of a former newspaper publishing building in Chicago, Illinois, US, is underway as of 27 August, as a former Chicago Tribune building will be replaced by a US$2-billion casino complex.
A pair of excavators with demolition attachments delivered the initial strike alongside a ceremonial brick-breaking.
The demolition and forthcoming build are for US-based Bally’s Corporation – a gambling, betting and interactive entertainment company – which seeks to open a 550,000 sq ft (51,097m2) complex including a casino, 500-room hotel, 3,000-seat theatre and new dining facilities in Chicago’s River West neighbourhood.
Chicago-based Brandenburg Industrial Services is the demolition contractor. Demolition is expected to last up to four months with crews working everyday for 12 hours.
The Tribune site, also called the Freedom Center, will be the location of the future hotel, which is designed at 34 storeys. The building ceased newspaper operations in May this year.
The Chicago Tribune was founded in 1847, and the paper moved its printing works and headquarters to the Freedom Center after a $185-million (approximately $600 million in 2024) construction project finished in 1982. Chicago architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill designed the building.
Taking a look at Bally’s Chicago casino and hotel
Render of the future Bally’s casino complex in Chicago, Illinois, US. (Image: HKS)
Development for the scheme picked up in 2019 after Illinois approved six new casino builds, including Bally’s.
Chicago Community Builders Collective (CCBC) is general contractor for the Bally’s casino project. The CCBC is a joint venture between Chicago-based firms Brown & Momen; d’Escoto; Milhouse, Powers & Sons Construction; SQN Associations; Ujamaa Construction; Riteway-Huggins Construction; and Wisconsin, US-based Gilbane Building Company.
The waterfront complex will run along the Chicago River. The project secured a promise of funding up to $2.07 billion from Pennsylvania, US-based Gaming and Leisure Properties, a real estate investment trust firm specialising in casinos. Chicago-based architects HKS designed the initial renders.
Bally’s recently accepted merger conditions worth $4.6 billion from Standard General, a New York, US-based hedge fund. Standard General entered an agreement to buyout all remaining shares of the company, which Bally’s said will then become a combined company but did not reveal name or branding. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
The gaming complex and lodging are expected to open in 2026.
Aerial render of the future Bally’s casino complex in the River West neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, US. (Image: HSK)
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