Bally's Chicago Casino Pulls $22.6M Riverwalk, Park Permit

A City of Chicago building permit valued at $22.6 million now covers riverwalk and park work at the Bally’s Chicago casino campus, putting a public-realm dollar figure on site work that is separate from the gaming floor and hotel tower. Permit #101078267, issued Oct. 16, lists the scope as landscaping, park and riverwalk improvements. The owner of record is Bally’s Chicago Operating Company LLC, the project entity under parent company Bally’s Corporation. Gilbane Building Company is general contractor; Brett B. Boaz is the listed architect.

The permit lists the work address as 705 W. Chicago Ave. Most outlet coverage of the Bally’s Chicago project cites 777 W. Chicago Ave., the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center printing plant site, as the campus address. This desk could not independently confirm whether the permit’s address and the commonly reported campus address describe the same parcel, an adjacent one, or a different portion of the same site, so we are reporting the permit as filed rather than assuming either reading.

Gaming and Leisure Properties agreed in 2024 to fund up to $940 million in construction financing for the project, a figure corroborated across multiple outlet reports at the time. Engineering News-Record’s coverage of that financing deal put the overall casino and hotel project at $1.7 billion, the figure most commonly cited since the city’s 2023 approval, though some later estimates from other outlets have run higher. This desk has not independently verified a single, final total project cost.

Why it matters

Public-realm site work, not just the gaming floor or hotel tower, is now permitted at a real dollar value. For River West retail and hospitality operators, that is a signal to start timing openings and staffing plans around the casino campus’s outdoor amenities, which typically land closer to a project’s finish than its structural permits do.

The numbers

Permit #101078267: issued Oct. 16, 2026, declared cost $22.6 million, scope landscaping, park and riverwalk, owner of record Bally’s Chicago Operating Company LLC, filed address 705 W. Chicago Ave. GC Gilbane Building Company, architect Brett B. Boaz. Separately: Gaming and Leisure Properties’ 2024 construction-financing commitment to the project totaled up to $940 million, against a total project cost most often put at $1.7 billion.

What’s next

Watch for the casino tower’s own remaining structural and fit-out permits as the project approaches its targeted opening. This desk will track filings tied to the campus in Chicago as they post to the city’s permit database, and will revisit the 705/777 W. Chicago Ave. address question if a clearer public record surfaces.