Initial financing and updated renderings have been revealed for the upcoming Bally’s permanent Chicago casino at 777 W Chicago Avenue in River West. Sitting just east of the intersection with N Halsted Street, the project will replace the former Chicago Tribune site which received demolition permits recently. The casino has been in the making for a few years and led by Bally’s with a large design team including famed firm HKS Architects.

With Bally’s temporary casino already in full swing in River North within the Medinah Temple, the company has been grappling in the last few months with a funding gap and lower than expected revenue from the temporary casino. This came at the same time the team revealed the original location for the hotel tower on the north-end was unsuitable, switching to a small two-story addition on top of the casino.

The company has now lined up $940 million in financing according to Crain’s, with another revised set of plans being revealed. The new design brings extensive changes to property, the previously announced 100-room rooftop addition has been removed and the main casino structure has been moved north and will now feature a large angled roof and rounded corners.

On its southern portion, a lot more glass has been introduced with a large angled feature slicing the riverfront facade in half. This element also connects to the largest change, a reintroduced hotel tower on the southern end of the property set to rise 34 stories tall and containing the required 500 hotel rooms. These changes also brought a redesigned public park south of the tower with additional greenery along the riverwalk.

The hotel tower will feature a pool deck on top of the casino and a large rooftop deck facing the city. The massive casino will still feature some of its major anchors like a 3,000-seat theater, six restaurants and a food hall, cafes, and various other common spaces. It will also be supported by over 2,500 vehicle parking spaces if no changes have been made.

With a total price tag of $1.7 billion, the $940 million come from Pennsylvania-based Gaming & Leisure Properties (GLP). With this deal the casino will be fully sold to GLP and leased back to Bally’s, similar to what the casino operator did with various other properties in order to generate an additional $395 million in funds. With funding secured, the revised project will need city approval with demolition on the site starting soon.

Bally’s still claims it will open the permanent facility in 2026 per city requirement.

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