The Salt Shed's owners want an outdoor amphitheater across the river. Here's the City's record on the site

A zoning application for 1459 N. Magnolia Ave. sketches an amphitheater, plaza and 100-space lot on land the companies don't yet own. The Council has backed the Salt Shed and nearby riverfront projects before.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 24, 2026

The companies behind the Salt Shed music venue have filed a zoning application to build an outdoor amphitheater, bar and plaza on an empty riverfront lot across from it, at 1459 N. Magnolia Ave., the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The application was filed Oct. 14.

Why it matters: an outdoor venue on the North Branch would bring more concerts, crowds and traffic to the Goose Island and West Town area, which is already changing fast with the Foundry Park project to the north. Zoning approval would rest with the City Council.

What's proposed

The plans, filed by a company tied to the Salt Shed, describe the site as 1401-59 N. Magnolia, covering about 516,000 square feet, according to the Sun-Times. They include tiered seating, a general admission standing area, a VIP section, artist dressing rooms, offices, a parking lot for about 100 cars and a landscaped public plaza on West Blackhawk Street, possibly with a pedestrian bridge.

The site plan does not give a capacity. Crain's Chicago Business previously reported it could hold up to 15,000, the Sun-Times noted. The Salt Shed holds about 5,500 for outdoor shows and 3,600 indoors.

The owners, Blue Star Properties and the hospitality group 16" on Center, do not own the land yet; the plans say it would join their holdings "if a sale goes through," the Sun-Times reported. The companies did not respond to the paper's request for comment.

What our records add

The ward. The lot is in the 27th Ward, represented by Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., who also sits on the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards that would hear the application. Burnett has filed for reelection and was the only candidate listed on our 27th Ward race page as of Oct. 21.

The Council has supported the Salt Shed site before. In October 2021, the Council approved a Class L property tax incentive, which is for landmark buildings, for the owner of the Morton Salt Company warehouse complex at 1329-1357 N. Elston Ave., the building that became the Salt Shed (O2021-4195).

And the riverfront next to it. In July, the Council voted 49 to 0 to spend Open Space Impact Fee money on the Goose Island Overlook at 1111 N. Elston Ave. (O2026-0026343).

How each ward voted

49 yea, 1 not voting · Jul 15, 2026 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

O2026-0026343: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

Foundry Park is just north. The Council approved up to $201.6 million in TIF for Foundry Park on the former Lincoln Yards north site this month, which we covered here, and the project broke ground this week, Block Club reported.

Not in our records yet. We have not seen the Magnolia Avenue application introduced at a Council meeting. Once it is, it will get a record number and a page, and we will follow it.

What's next

The project depends on a land sale, and a zoning change needs a hearing and vote in the zoning committee, then a full Council vote. The zoning committee's next scheduled meeting is Nov. 17; the Sun-Times did not report a hearing date.

Sources: O2021-4195: Class L incentive for the Morton Salt warehouse complex; O2026-0026343: Goose Island Overlook (roll call); Chicago Politics: Foundry Park TIF; Chicago Politics: 27th Ward race, 2027.