Bring it on, Bulls
06/13/2012 10:00 PM
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We were delighted to hear the Bulls come out this week and announce they’re moving their practice facility to the city. There’s really only one obvious choice for it to go, and that’s the Near West Side next to the United Center.
Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf already controls tons of land around the UC, and he’s already working with Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz to build a new retail and entertainment complex next to the arena.
Adding another building to the mix is a no-brainer. We’d be absolutely shocked if the Berto Center ended up moving anywhere else.
This sudden wave of redevelopment around the United Center is a great thing. The moat of parking lots around the arena is getting filled, one mixed-use development at a time.
The first shoe to drop was a new Malcolm X College Building replacing a parking lot on Jackson. The next was the retail and entertainment complex. Now the practice center is likely to come.
What’s missing? Oh year, an ‘L’ stop.
The Illinois Medical District stop at Damen is OK, but it’s far from the action and it’s not great. Let’s see a Pink Line stop at Madison, or better yet, a Green Line stop at Damen.
We’re watching with popcorn as all these developments pop up around the arena. We hope these are for real, and we hope there are more are yet to come.
Oh, and when will we start seeing some developments on the west side of the United Center? A grocery store would be perfect — oh wait. Never mind.