Chicago O'Hare International has 4 tracked projects. See what is open, under construction, announced, or still only rumored — with a source beside every claim.
Reopened 50% larger at nearly 25,000 sq ft — 350+ seats, an expanded dining room, and what United says makes it the first US airline running two full-service bars in a business-class lounge. United's most recent finished lounge investment anywhere.
The first big piece of the $8.8B ORDNext program actually being built: a 580,000 sq ft satellite south of Concourse C, 19 gates convertible between 18 narrowbody and 9 widebody positions. Ground broke August 2025; by August 2026 the City said its steel frame was rising and it remains on schedule for late 2028, with a guaranteed maximum price locked in June at least $21M under budget. The City builds it; United and American fund much of it through their rates — and how the gates split between them hasn't been published.
Pulled forward in August 2026: the City now breaks ground 'later this year' on a first phase of 14 gates opening in 2030, freeing room to build the Global Terminal; the last 10 gates follow in 2034, for ~460,000 sq ft west of Concourse D serving regional, narrowbody and preclearance flights. Sequencing was worked out with United and American. Until the shovels are actually in, it stays 'announced' — this is the same concourse whose funding was in doubt as recently as February.
The Studio Gang-designed replacement for Terminal 2 that would finally let United connect domestic and international under one roof. Announced in 2018 with a 2026 target; after a year of renegotiation with United and American, the City's August 2026 resequencing builds it in a single phase from 2029 to 2033 — a year later than the 2032 date previously on the books. Construction hasn't started. The definitive case study in why this page distinguishes 'announced' from 'under construction.'
New Concourse D (Satellite 1, 19 gates) is the clearest headline at ORD: The first big piece of the $8.8B ORDNext program actually being built: a 580,000 sq ft satellite south of Concourse C, 19 gates convertible between 18 narrowbody and 9 widebody positions. Ground broke August 2025; by August 2026 the City said its steel frame was rising and it remains on schedule for late 2028, with a guaranteed maximum price locked in June at least $21M under budget. The City builds it; United and American fund much of it through their rates — and how the gates split between them hasn't been published. Across the full list, 4 of 4 projects are led or jointly built by United; the rest belong to the airport authority and affect United's operation without being United capital projects.
The FAA tracker currently labels ORD scheduled for TFDM. The tower rollout is tracked separately from United's terminal and club construction.
4 projects are tracked at ORD: Polaris Lounge renovation, New Concourse D (Satellite 1, 19 gates), New Concourse E (Satellite 2), O'Hare Global Terminal. Each item is labeled by current status and by whether United or the airport authority is doing the work.
3 projects are under construction or announced, 1 is already open, and the remaining items are explicitly labeled if they are only rumored.
New Concourse D (Satellite 1, 19 gates) carries a published target of late 2028. It remains labeled under construction until a source confirms that it opened.