Three casino operators favor Chicago's South Side for first projects

Chicago Business Journal

By: Wendell Hutson

Casino operators Bally’s Corp., Rush Street Gaming and Hard Rock International, all vying to build Chicago’s first casino, have proposed a South Side location near the McCormick Place convention center. While each proposal has similarities, the reasons why each operator seeks a location near McCormick Place, 2301 S. King Drive, differs.

The casino operators shared their different reasons with the Chicago Business Journal.

Bally's

Bally’s $1.6 billion proposal for the South Side calls for a 2.11 million-square-foot casino at the Marshaling Yards, an outdoor logistics facility used by trucks at 3050 Moe Drive in Bronzeville.

“That’s one of the best pieces of real estate in the city in our eyes,” contends Christopher Jewett, director of Corporate Development for Bally’s. “Conveniently located off Lakeshore Drive at 31st Street, it has great access to the expressway.”

He added that Bally’s casino would be different from its competition for a lot of reasons.

“We will have a food hall that will have a local, rotating chef program where chefs can come in under residency to showcase their talent,” said Jewett. “This would be for chefs without a lot of capital but looking to be exposed to millions of people every year.”

A 5,100-parking space garage would also be built along with a 100-room hotel, which could increase to 500 rooms if demand warrants it, said Jewett, who added Bally’s other proposed location is at 777 W. Chicago Ave., which is currently occupied by Tribune Publishing.

“Whichever neighborhood we land in, we want folks that live in that neighborhood to have a piece of the equity ownership for this project,” said Jewett. “Hiring preferences would also go to local residents too, although we also plan to use union employees as well for construction and on the operational side once built.”

Rush Street Gaming

Unlike Bally’s, whose casino would be new construction, Rush Street Gaming’s $1.3 billion proposal calls for renovating the vacant Lakeside Center at 2301 S. Lakeshore Drive, which is adjacent to the McCormick Place. It has also proposed a $2 billion development on vacant land at Clark Street and Roosevelt Road in the South Loop.

Among those working with Rush Street Gaming on its South Side proposal is Scott Goodman, a principal at Chicago-based Farpoint Development, whose firm is also a part the development team (Loop Capital Management, Draper & Kramer, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, McLaurin Development Partners, and Bronzeville Community Development Partnership), GRIT LLC, which is redeveloping the former Michael Reese Hospital campus in Bronzeville into a mixed-use development that includes housing and retail.

According to Goodman, the Rush Street casino could be up and running 12 to 15 months after renovations begin, allowing revenue from the casino to start flowing sooner to the city and local communities.

“The building has substantial deferred maintenance needed that we would absorb, which otherwise would be the responsibility of taxpayers, so that saves them millions of dollars,” said Goodman. “Adaptive reuse is a much different construction project than building ground up as other proposals call for.”

But beyond costs, Goodman said other reasons why their site proposal is better is because it has no major impacts to nearby residents, such as displacement.

“We think the casino decision should be based on what’s best for the residents of Chicago, and our casino would not affect any residential tenants in the area,” he said. “What makes the area around the McCormick Place the best place to put a casino is nearby hotels, a steady flow of tourism, close proximity to expressways, lakefront and Soldier Field, and great public transportation.”

Goodman added that David Doig, president of the nonprofit Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, which developed the 180-acre mixed-use Pullman Park development on the Far South Side, is working with him on the casino proposal.

Hard Rock

While Hard Rock has proposed building a permanent, $1.7 billion casino dubbed One Central near Soldier Field, it wants to build a temporary casino at the Lakeside Center same as Rush Street.

Gina Morales, a spokeswoman for Hard Rock, declined to comment.

However, in a statement, Jon Lucas, COO for Hard Rock International, said its history with the city of Chicago goes back 35 years and it is excited about the possibilities of building an entertainment complex that will include a 500-room hotel along with residential, office and retail space.

“We can tell you that our plan is to build a world class destination that the people of Chicago will be proud of,” said Lucas. “More details about the project will be revealed on December 16 at the city’s public hearing for proposals as we move forward with the RFP process.”

What's next?

While no time and location has been determined yet, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city will host a Dec. 16 public meeting for operators to present their proposals and answer questions from the community. And follow-up meetings are expected for any revisions made to the original proposals. A casino is expected to generate $200 million annually in taxes for the city, according to Chicago's Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett.

Once a operator is chosen by city officials, the bidder will submit an official planned development application to the city and the Chicago Plan Commission. Another public meeting would then be held for the winning proposal, which must first win approval from the city's Zoning Committee and City Council before seeking approval for a casino license from the Illinois Gaming Board before construction can begin.

After a license is issued by the state, the operator could operate a temporary casino for up to two years while it builds a permanent one. And if necessary, the operator could seek a 12-month extension on the temporary site.