Top Chicago development projects to watch in 2025

The 1901

This is the latest mega development plan in the city, taking over a big chunk of the near West Side by the United Center.

The project, which will be built on surrounding parking lots and other open spaces near the stadium, will include a music venue, new parks and sports fields, hotels and nearly 10,000 residential units.

• Unlike some other big developments that rely on public tax incentives, this one is being paid for mostly by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who own the United Center.

What to watch for: Be ready for a request for the city to provide "infrastructure improvements."

• Groundbreaking is supposed to start this summer.

Lincoln Yards

One nugget that came out of the city's recent budget negotiations is that support for the yet-to-be-built Lincoln Yards project may be waning.

Chicago City Council approved the mega development featuring new housing, retail and park space back in 2019, but it was waylaid by the pandemic-era economy that saw costs jump.

Yes, but: In December, Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), whose ward covers Lincoln Yards, nearly stopped a nearby sister project by Sterling Bay that Mayor Brandon Johnson supports.

• The mayor and Ald. Walter Burnett (zoning chair) still support the project, which they say will bring thousands of construction jobs to the area.

What to watch for: Will the megadevelopment deliver on bringing Lincoln Yards to life in 2025, or will it be another year of vacant lands filled by temporary pickleball courts?

Cabrini Green housing

While the Chicago Freedom Center is almost demolished, construction should start on the Bally's Casino in River West this year. But this isn't the only project happening in the old Cabrini Green area of Chicago.

A new vision for the former notorious housing projects on the Near North Side has been presented by the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and construction is set to start in 2025.

Backstory: When Cabrini Green was torn down in the 2000s, the CHA promised to repurpose the land for housing that would bring back displaced communities.

• It's been over 20 years since many of the residents were forced to leave the area, while the surrounding neighborhood has gentrified.

What to watch for: Will the city be able to reintroduce and revive Cabrini Green public housing with this plan, decades later?

Congress Theater

The famed Congress Theater on Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square has sat dormant since 2013. Renovation and redevelopment plans have come and gone, but a new one seems to have stuck as the city has awarded the developer Baum Revision with over $6 million in tax incentives.

• The developer has a plan to refurbish the beautiful building and the surrounding storefronts and residential units.

What to watch for: The proposed plan says they want to start construction early this year to have it ready to go for early 2026.

The South Side resurgence

This year could be a huge one for the South Side, which includes two possible sites for a new Bears stadium.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg: Construction on the new Obama Presidential Center in Woodlawn should finish this year; new construction should begin on the CTA's Red Line extension to 130th Street; and the new quantum hub on the Southeast Side will break ground soon.

• On a smaller scale, work should begin this year on the Bronzeville Trail, which will carve out a walking and biking path on the abandoned elevated Kenwood CTA train tracks.
• The two-mile trail would live between 40th and Dearborn and 41st Street and Lake Park Avenue. Think of it as the South Side companion to the 606 Trail that runs through Bucktown and Humboldt Park.
• It's expected to be complete in 2030.

What to watch for: Many of these South Side projects are dependent on promised federal funding from the Biden administration, which could be in jeopardy with the incoming Trump administration.