Chicago Community Builders Collective: One Year, One Vision
It has been an action-packed year since the Chicago Community Builders Collective (CCBC) began demolition and clearing the site of Bally’s Chicago Casino, kicking off a dynamic 365 days of construction milestones and community engagement — plus some big moments for our team and industry partners along the way.
Read on for a look back at a few key moments over the past year, see how far we’ve progressed in laying the foundation for a successful project and learn more about the people bringing it all to life.
CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS
On August 27, 2024, the live demolition of the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center, where Bally’s Chicago Casino will stand, kicked everything off. Attendees — including Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim, local elected officials, and the CCBC team — took part in a memorable take-down experience that celebrated the site's rich past and exciting future. In fact, Bally’s and CCBC were sure to salvage the historic “Chicago Tribune” sign for potential future reuse.
Before the six-story Freedom Center’s walls came down, Bally’s and CCBC granted the Chicago Fire Department permission to use the building as a training ground to simulate common drills and rescue scenarios. “When help is needed, having a practiced response can be the difference between success and failure, life and death,” reported WGN 9 Chicago.
Next, once demolition was completed on the Chicago River side of the property, CCBC led the critically important task of investigating the stability of the retaining wall, with some portions being nearly 100 years old, to assess where repairs and reinforcements were needed. Similarly, we helped shore up Chicago Avenue by putting in sheeting to provide additional structural support as the project progresses.
In August of 2025, we reached another key milestone as our crews began laying the foundation for Bally’s Chicago Casino. This entailed building caissons and drilling a 21-foot bell to meet the casino’s specifications, which are structurally different from those of a traditional high rise.
Now, as we head into year-two of this build, the CCBC team is hard at work — with more exciting milestones just on the horizon.
Community Outreach
Bally’s is the first casino to be built in the city of Chicago. From the outset, we have prioritized inclusive hiring and participation by minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses. Instead of waiting for new businesses to come to us, we went to them. In the past year, CCBC has hosted 14 community outreach events where we shared construction job opportunities, bid packages, and resources and training to help residents who want to be a part of this exciting venture be successful.
In addition, we participated in city- and community-sponsored events, reinforcing connections and our commitment to transparency around job and business opportunities. In March, CCBC presented at the City of Chicago Construction Summit, where prime contractors and vendors were able to explore opportunities on the Bally's project. After the presentation, our team went around to booths and introduced ourselves to participants attending. We also participated in the Black Men United (BMU) Job Fair in March that resulted in the referral of several construction career seekers to HIRE360. Both events provided CCBC the chance not only to promote the Bally’s Casino project but to make and build upon valuable connections.
That same month, we networked with vendors at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Skilled Trades Fair and introduced youth interested in the trades to career pathways and resources to help them learn more and get started on their futures.
As a joint venture, CCBC understands the value of collaboration and partnerships. In June, we hosted an outreach session and Business Opportunity Discussion where we informed community members about upcoming bid packages and facilitated an open forum for businesses to network and collaborate on their bids.
Moving ahead, we will continue to hold community outreach events and remain accessible to the public. We’re building a diverse workforce and a deep bench of talented small business owners, and that’s in great measure due to the relationships we’ve fostered with organizations that have a long track record of community service, like Breakthrough Urban Ministries, Building Better Futures, UCAN and the Chatham Business Association. We look forward to deepening our engagement — and making new connections — over the next months and years to come.
Big Team Moments
We’re proud of the work we’re doing and especially of the people making it happen. But it’s not all construction all of the time: last September, members of our team volunteered at the Greater Chicago Food Depository during National Hunger Action Month and processed 4,968 pounds of pasta to provide 4,140 meals.
After spending a year together, it is gratifying to look back at our impact, and how we have contributed to critical conversations about workplace culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, and preparing the next gen workforce.
In October, CCBC’s Gerri Harris, Area Director for Community Impact & Engagement for partner firm Gilbane Building, and Miguel d’Escoto, Project Executive of d’Escoto Inc., led panels on building an inclusive workforce and talked about the latest projects in Chicago during the annual Chicago Build Trade Show. The high-profile event drew more than 30,000 attendees and 300-plus exhibitors to McCormick Place.
CCBC has been intentional about creating a welcoming work environment where people and their opinions are valued. We adopted the Associated General Contractors (AGC)’s Culture of CARE, an industry standard that embraces the right of every individual to work in an environment free from harassment, hazing and bullying, so that they can reach their full potential. In January, our commitment was featured in the Chicagoland Associated General Contractors 2024 annual magazine. Thus far, 794 individuals and 20 companies have taken the pledge.
Women are making steady strides in the construction industry. During Women’s History Month in March, Senior Project Manager Gretchen Toshach and Project Manager Emily Voigt joined Jamillah Muhammad, Education-to-Careers Director at CISCO, to talk about how the industry has evolved around inclusion and opportunity on a Women in Construction panel at Dawson Technical Institute at Kennedy-King College.
Then, in May, our team witnessed a powerful moment in the workforce development journey of 23 Chicagoans: the graduation of the first Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program cohort at the HIRE360 Training and Business Development Center. As part of our ongoing outreach efforts, CCBC played an active role in recruiting five individuals from the Cabrini-Green housing complex to join the nine-week program, where they gained paid experience in the trades.
In June, CCBC partners welcomed six interns over the summer who were assigned to the Bally’s project --- one high school student and five collegians who are studying industry disciplines ranging from civil engineering to architecture to construction management.
Over the next 12 months, our team will follow a mandate to build on our successes and build community by strengthening our ties with the people and organizations who make Chicago a world-class city.