Dive Brief:

• The Chicago Department of Planning and Urban Development approved the proposed site plan for Bally’s Chicago casino, the company announced Friday.
• The approval upholds Bally’s timeline, which projects the company will break ground on the $1.7 billion waterfront development in late 2024. 
• When it opens, the casino will be the first ground-up gaming complex and resort in the center of a major metropolitan city. The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently reviewing Bally’s plans to hold an initial public offering of ownership in the site to Chicago residents.

Dive Insight:

The City of Chicago greenlit Bally’s casino plans on Wednesday, paving the way for the company to move forward on its ambitious resort project. 

The 30-acre development is projected to create more than 3,000 permanent jobs in Chicago, the company said. The project’s development team features Chicago-based and minority-owned businesses. That includes Chicago landscape architects Site Design Group and contractor Chicago Community Builders Collective. The masterplan was created by SCB in collaboration with V3 Companies, Gensler and Site Design Group. 

The decision comes on the heels of Bally’s announcement that it plans to hold an IPO to offer public shares of the resort to Chicago residents — a rare, but not unheard-of, move. The IPO is intended to give a 25% stake in Bally’s Chicago to “minority investors,” which the company’s website defines as “philanthropists, business owners, sports stars, celebrities and everyday Chicagoans from the Black and Latino communities, as well as other ethnic and gender representation.”

The resort will take the place of the former Chicago Tribune Publishing Center, also known as the Freedom Center, along the Chicago River. Plans for the site include a casino, a 500-plus room hotel tower, a 70,000-square-foot entertainment center, a museum and exhibition area and 10 food and beverage outlets. The approved plan also noted more than 10 acres of outdoor space, which will contain a park that will host farmers’ markets and art fairs. 

Bally's Senior Vice President of Design and Development, Joyen Vakil, said the design “celebrates Chicago's motto, urbs in horto – city in a garden – and creates a dynamic public realm on site.”

“The plan is uniquely focused on bringing in nature and wellness through the addition of numerous public plazas and parks,” Vakil added.

Last week, Bally’s Corporation submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to propose its IPO. The IPO will likely occur after the SEC finishes its review process. 

At the time of Form S-1 submission, one expert told Hotel Dive that the Bally’s Chicago IPO was unusual in its ownership restrictions, which call for stakeholders from local communities, and that this was likely a bid to deter future politicians from increasing taxes on the project.