Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz, Residents Talk About What They Want To See For Chicago’s West Side

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Sasha Ann Simons** (0:38)
Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.
Stick around to the very end of the episode to get a rundown of the latest news. But first, the Obama Presidential Center isn't the only major development in the works in Chicago right now. The so-called 1901 Project is expected to transform the near West Side and the area around the United Center. That neighborhood has long been a symbol of both opportunity and struggle. It was once a thriving place for working families and businesses, but decades of disinvestment have caused significant harm, economic issues, even gaps in healthcare and basic necessities.
Recently some of that has started to turn around. So as shovels hit the ground on the 1901 Project, how are local residents feeling? Do concerns about gentrification still remain? In this episode of the pod, you'll hear from some people who live and work in the area. But before that, I talk one-on-one with Danny Wirtz, the CEO of the Chicago Blackhawks, and a key force behind the new mixed-use development project. What's the overall vision? That is where I asked him to begin. Here's Danny Wirtz.

**Danny Wirtz** (1:49)
Our family has been on the site of the United Center and previously the Chicago Stadium for just about 90 years, so almost 100 years. We've been on this site with ownership of the Chicago Stadium, and then in 1992, transitioning that to the building of the United Center with the Rhinestore family.
We had been sitting in this donut hole of opportunity for a long time. As the United Center grew, and 200 events a year, it's a vibrant place for activity. We're also surrounded by 55 acres of surface parking lots. And gazing at those parking lots every day, while we enjoy the business of parking lots, they don't offer the full maximum opportunity. And I think we were very much encouraged by the growth of the area around us on the West Side. So of course, the growth of Fulton Market, the rise of the Illinois Medical District, the growth of Malcolm X College, which is our closest neighbor to the South. And of course, everything happening West and North of us, we felt it was time for us to do more with that land and to create a true extension of that neighborhood using the United Center and the surrounding areas, sort of the energy hub for that development.

**Sasha Ann Simons** (3:04)
Yeah, 1901, what's significant about that? It's just the address?

**Danny Wirtz** (3:07)
It's just the address, yeah. It's not very creative and it's sort of a placeholder while the neighborhood sort of names itself over time and kind of becomes something a little more.

**Sasha Ann Simons** (3:15)
I was curious.

**Danny Wirtz** (3:16)
Yes, exactly.

**Sasha Ann Simons** (3:17)
You co-lead this with the Chicago Bulls president and CEO, Michael Reinsdorf. This is not your first time, of course, collaborating. Your families have been working together for decades.
Tell us more about who else you partnered with for this one.

**Danny Wirtz** (3:28)
So, yeah, so I mean, the origins of this start between the two families. I think that's really important. You know, we're not some out of town developer coming in to develop land on the West Side. We've been there.
We've stewarded our respective brands, the Blackhawks and Bulls, for some time now. And, you know, I think the ownership really kind of helps set the vision for where we want to go. And luckily, we have an incredible team at the United Center that knows how to build things, knows how to work with community, work with, you know, the political apparatus needed to get things done. And we have been very homegrown in our approach to this. It's the same people that built the United Center. Of course, we've added to our team and built some capabilities, but it's been very, very internally focused. Now, that being said, we've, of course, created groups and outreach with the community. Again, these are our neighbors that we've had for, you know, over 35 years with the United Center and go back sometimes even generations to be at the table with us as we start to think through, and we did in the early stages and up till today, what this project will look like.

**Sasha Ann Simons** (4:35)
Yeah, I want to know more about that because the area around the United Center has been in need of investment for decades. So tell me what you're hearing from West Side residents about the project. Was this a tough sell?