Chicago casino locations: Bally’s claims River West site would reduce traffic; residents disagree

CHICAGO — Executives from an East Coast playing firm on Wednesday tried to fuel up help for his or her proposed River West on line casino by insisting it might ease site visitors within the congested neighborhood – however they had been met by a room of many potential future neighbors urging them to pump the brakes.

Rhode Island-based Bally’s Company pitched its plan for a sprawling playing complicated on a 30-acre plot close to Halsted Road and Chicago Avenue, which is at present dwelling to the Chicago Tribune’s printing plant – and the supply of site visitors complications each day.

Town even issued a site visitors alert hours in anticipation of the 300-capacity crowd of neighborhood residents who gathered Wednesday in a warehouse on the proposed on line casino website for a public listening to on the venture. It was the second of three public displays scheduled for this week as Mayor Lori Lightfoot mulls three finalists for the coveted on line casino license.

A lot of the residents’ feedback on Bally’s plan had been parked on one challenge: site visitors.

“I really like my neighborhood,” one River North resident wrote on a public remark card, the town’s chosen format for many group enter on the assembly. “It is slowly disappearing, and a on line casino would take away what stays and enhance already congested site visitors.”

“The Bally’s On line casino complicated is solely the incorrect venture for this location,” mentioned Brian Israel, president of the River North Residents Affiliation. “The extra pressure on infrastructure, noise lighting, site visitors and influence on property values are unreasonable burdens.”

SEE MORE: Public conferences to debate Chicago on line casino bids kick off with Arduous Rock proposal

Comparable criticisms have been lodged towards Bally’s rivals for the on line casino license: a Arduous Rock on line casino proposed throughout the road from Soldier Discipline, and a Rivers on line casino eyed for the South Loop inexperienced discipline referred to as the 78.

Bally’s chairman Soo Kim tried to flip that script on the outset of the presentation, highlighting research suggesting their $1.7 billion on line casino plan – which additionally requires a 3,000-seat theater, an out of doors music venue and a Chicago Riverwalk extension – would truly minimize down on site visitors.

That is as a result of their price range consists of thousands and thousands towards 30 infrastructure enhancements within the space, together with a resurfacing of Halsted and a sequence of recent site visitors and pedestrian indicators.

“Our venture is complementary to the issues that you’ve got,” Kim mentioned.

Metropolis officers lent some help to that declare in a report evaluating the on line casino candidates final month, writing that Bally’s plan “ought to lead to much less site visitors within the weekday morning, related site visitors ranges within the weekday evenings, and extra site visitors throughout weekend evenings.”

Town’s report on Bally’s did not have a lot detrimental to say about their plan – however Jennie Huang Bennett, the town’s chief monetary officer, prompt the town wasn’t on board with a controversial provision of the company’s minority funding program. It initially held that the company would have the choice to purchase out minority shareholders after six years.

Bennett mentioned final month that the town “values having longevity of minority possession” – and Bally’s promptly backed off that fine-print provision.

SEE MORE: Chicago on line casino bids: 3 finalists introduced by Mayor Lightfoot’s workplace

On Wednesday, Kim dismissed the criticism as “noise,” saying “we have continued to evolve (on) this.” Ladies and minorities will account for “no less than” 25% of the possession group, he added.

Bally’s has additionally provided up a $25 million upfront cost on to the town in the event that they land the on line casino – a fast money infusion that the opposite bidders have not but provided up.

That is a particular plus for metropolis officers desperate to get a big-city playing emporium and operating as shortly as potential to start out churning out tax income, which is earmarked for Chicago’s desperately underfunded police and firefighter pension funds.

Town already initiatives Bally’s River West proposal as essentially the most profitable of the finalists, churning out estimated annual tax revenues of virtually $192 million, in keeping with the town report.

However that is depending on Bally’s ending each phases of its building plan, which requires 100 lodge rooms initially, then increasing to 500 whole. Solely then would it not hit max income projections, by the town’s estimation.

The mayor has put collectively a Metropolis Council committee to slim the sphere down to 1 finalist throughout the subsequent few months. That bidder would then have to use for state approval.

The Rivers 78 website can be mentioned from 6 p.m. to eight p.m. Thursday on the College of Illinois Chicago’s Dorin Discussion board, 725 W. Roosevelt Highway. It’s going to even be streamed on-line at chicago.gov/reside.

(Source: Solar-Instances Media Wire – Copyright Chicago Solar-Instances 2022.)