Demolition begins Tuesday for Bally's casino at former Tribune publishing site
CHICAGO (CBS) — Demolition work began Tuesday at the site of Bally's permanent casino in Chicago's River West neighborhood.
The new $1.7 billion casino and hotel complex will be built at the site of the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center printing facility at Halsted Street and Chicago Avenue.
Demolition on the Freedom Center complex began Tuesday morning.
In July, Bally's announced it had entered into a $940 million deal with Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust, for essential funding for its casino.
The future casino will include a 500-room hotel tower, a 3,000-seat theater and six restaurants.
"We're really excited to put something here that befits Chicago as a whole. Obviously River West matches River North and Fulton Market. I think what we have planned for you is just fantastic, and it's going to make everyone proud," Bally's chairman Soo Kim said.
The project is expected to bring 3,000 construction jobs to Chicago, and 3,000 permanent jobs to the casino once construction is complete.
Putting people to work on the project is something that is important to Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), whose ward includes the casino site, and called the project "personal."
"If my folks don't eat, nobody eat. So if Cabrini Green people don't get to work on this site, there will be no more development in the 27th Ward until I'm satisfied," he said.
Bally's officials plan to open the permanent location in the fall of 2026.