Bally's Chicago Casino Resort at the Freedom Center Site

The final beam went up on May 1, 2026. Bally’s $1.7 billion casino resort on the old Chicago Tribune Freedom Center site is topped out, two schedule slips after the license was awarded, with opening now set for spring 2027.

Project Scope

The development anchors a 30-acre redevelopment on the north bank of the Chicago River. At completion it carries a 500-room hotel tower with a rooftop bar, 3,400 slot machines, 173 table games, a 3,000-seat theater and event center, ten food and beverage venues, 3,300 parking spaces and a two-acre public riverfront park. More than 1,000 tradespeople have worked on it so far. HKS is design architect after Bally’s replaced Gensler when Gaming and Leisure Properties came in as real estate partner, a swap that drew a critical architectural review and a revised city design approval. SCB handled the masterplan with V3 Companies and Site Design Group. Chicago granted site approval in February 2025.

Why It Matters

The contracting structure is the unusual part. The GC is the Chicago Community Builders Collective, a joint venture of Providence-based Gilbane with seven Chicago-area minority- and locally-owned firms including Ujamaa Construction, Powers & Sons Construction, Brown & Momen, Milhouse Engineering & Construction and Riteway-Huggins. That structure came out of the license conditions, not the owner’s preference, and it’s the most visible test yet of whether participation requirements get met through a real joint venture instead of tiered subcontracts. About 3,000 permanent jobs are projected once the resort opens. The job is running alongside the Red Line Extension and the O’Hare Concourse D work, which is tightening the local trade labor market on all three.

Project Team & Details