Bally’s Chicago Casino Resort 

The Challenge

Bally’s Corporation is creating an integrated luxury resort at a prime location along the Chicago River. Bally’s tasked HKS with designing and delivering a vibrant, multi-use Experience District with gaming facilities, premium hotel accommodations, a performing arts venue, meeting and event spaces, indoor and outdoor dining and recreational amenities to attract both locals and tourists. The resort will offer extraordinary views of the Chicago skyline and a connection to the Chicago River, a treasured natural amenity in the city.

HKS’ multidisciplinary design team is weaving the project into Chicago’s urban fabric to enhance the resort’s immediate neighborhood and the city at large. HKS is collaborating with several firms on this intricate project, including Slade Architecture, STLarchitects for the event center, UrbanWorks for interior services, Anderson/Miller for hotel interiors and WATG for casino interiors.

The Design Solution

The design of Bally’s Chicago Casino Resort speaks to Chicago’s strength and beauty. The sleek, 35-story glass and metal hotel tower is designed to capture the shifting light and dynamic energy of the city, creating a beacon on the Chicago riverfront. Adjacent to the hotel tower, a podium with curved layers of glass, metal and etched concrete adds tactile elegance and a sense of flowing movement to the design.

The hotel tower will feature a rooftop restaurant and bar and a spa with panoramic views of the river and the iconic Chicago skyline. By placing the hotel tower on the north end of the site, the design integrates the resort with a new public park along the riverfront and capitalizes on the remarkable river and city views offered by the development’s unique location.

The project will extend the famed Chicago Riverwalk by approximately 2,000 feet – from W. Ontario St. to Chicago Ave. – in the city’s River West neighborhood to enhance the public’s enjoyment of the river. The landscaped urban pathway will provide waterfront access to the resort’s hotel, specialty restaurant and approximately 15,000-square-foot food hall; entrances from the Riverwalk will lead directly into each of these amenities. The restaurant will feature a terrace for outdoor dining overlooking the river. A proposed water taxi stop will offer guests the option of arriving at the resort via watercraft.

For people arriving by motor vehicle, the project will feature a 5-lane porte cochere to support valet service, passenger drop-off and rideshare access. Separate drop-off points will be located at the entrances to the casino, hotel and performing arts center, to streamline traffic and increase accessibility to the casino, hotel and theater.

The 160,000-square-foot casino will include high-limit gaming areas, 173 table games and more than 3,300 slots. Approximately 30,000 square feet of exhibit space distributed throughout the development will provide display areas for artwork such as large-scale sculptural installations and pieces by local Chicago artists.

A public park and a multitiered grand plaza known as Bally’s Landing will round out the site. The resort’s sustainable design, which targets LEED Gold certification, includes a green roof and bird safe glass. 

The project’s innovative parking solution positions the 3,300-car parking garage on top of the casino, behind a decorative concrete facade with a textural pattern evocative of the Chicago skyline. All parking spaces will be covered, to make parking easier and more comfortable for guests in inclement weather. Two levels of dedicated employee parking will provide a safer and more convenient work environment for staff.

Placing the parking garage atop the casino frees up space across the street, which might otherwise be used for parking, for future development in the River West neighborhood. 

Large letters spelling out “Chicago” — original signage from the Chicago Tribune printing plant that once stood on the site — will be displayed facing Chicago Ave. in tribute to the neighborhood, the city and its history. 

The Design Impact

Bally’s Chicago Casino Resort will be a gleaming addition to the Chicago skyline and a dynamic new destination in the city. The integrated resort will reinvigorate a former industrial site along the Chicago River with gaming, dining, hospitality and entertainment options, as well as a public park and an extension of the Chicago Riverwalk.

The resort is anticipated to drive substantial economic growth and create diverse job opportunities in Chicago’s River West neighborhood and across the city. By serving as a catalyst for future neighborhood revitalization and becoming a destination for both residents and travelers, the project aims to unlock long-term benefits for the community and enhance Chicago’s appeal as an engine for prosperity and cultural vitality.