Bell Works Runs on a Weekday Clock. The West Side Could Reset It.

Bell Works Chicagoland has seven public events on its October calendar, and every one of them falls between a Tuesday and a Thursday. The latest one ends at 8 p.m. on a Wednesday. The former AT&T campus has filled with things residents can use, including a food hall, indoor golf, a game venue and fitness studios. Its public schedule is still built around the office week. The west side was meant to start changing that this fall. It came with an outdoor bar, a turf courtyard and a public lounge, and its target opening was the third quarter of 2026. That quarter ended on September 30.

Every Date on the October Calendar Is a Weekday

Here is the full list of public events in Bell Works' calendar of happenings, which was last updated September 29, 2026:

• Wednesday, Oct. 14, noon to 1:30 p.m. Village Networking at Swing Loose Indoor Golf.
• Wednesday, Oct. 14, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Pilates, Pumpkins, and Prosecco with FitLab.
• Thursday, Oct. 15, 4 to 7 p.m. Vinyl Night featuring DJ Groove Thang at Bell Market, with a pop-up selling his vinyl records during the same hours.
• Tuesday, Oct. 20, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A blood drive hosted by Crystal Clean and FitLab.
• Thursday, Oct. 22, 4 to 7 p.m. Sundown Session featuring the Riley Brothers Duo at Bell Market.
• Wednesday, Oct. 28, 3 to 5 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Trick-or-Treat Around the Block, followed by the annual Halloween Party, which has a 90s theme this year.

None of them fall on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The two music nights at Bell Market both start at 4 p.m. and wrap up at 7, which lines up with the end of the workday more than with dinner. The networking lunch and the blood drive are daytime events. Even Halloween lands on a Wednesday. Bell Works posts its calendar in rolling form, and the September graphic still sits at the top of the page, so later weekend listings could still appear. On the schedule as published, though, the campus is a weekday place.

Why the Clock Is Set to the Workweek

The schedule makes sense once you look at who the campus was renovated for. Redevelopment of the east side began during the pandemic, and in June 2026 the Daily Herald described it as nearly fully leased, calling it a prime source of the amenity-heavy Class A office space that employers in the Northwest suburbs have sought out since 2020. Office tenants keep the building busy from Monday to Friday, and the events are scheduled around when those people are already in the building.

The public-facing businesses sit inside that office crowd. Bell Works' On The Block directory currently lists FitLab, LeGenda, Bell Market, It Gym, Love Local Media Agency, Game Night Out, Party Cycle Movement and Swing Loose. According to the Daily Herald, Swing Loose and Game Night Out both opened in May 2025, and LeGenda held its grand opening that June.

Bell Market is the food hall where the music nights take place. It opened on June 23, 2025, with five concepts: Honeybell Bakery & Cafe, Broadfork Greens + Grains, Jozu, Yeeroz and Beef & Bird. That was the lineup at launch in 2025. Bell Works has not published an updated vendor list or schedule since then, and the hours printed on its directory page appear alongside copy that still calls the market "coming soon." Calling ahead before a lunch trip is a good idea.

The October calendar shows how much the campus's public life runs through these tenants. FitLab hosts two of the seven events. Swing Loose hosts the networking lunch. Bell Market hosts both music nights. Bell Works itself puts on only the Halloween events.

October 28 Is the Date Built for Families

Halloween is the one event aimed at the whole community and not mainly at people who work on campus. Trick-or-Treat Around the Block runs from 3 to 5 p.m. in The Square at Bell Works Chicagoland, and the invitation is addressed to "all tenants and the community." Families bring children in costume to trick-or-treat at the participating tenants. The Halloween Party follows from 5 to 8 p.m., and the event page says admission is complimentary.

Even this event follows the weekday pattern. It starts after school and before dinner on a Wednesday, so children can trick-or-treat through the building while their parents are still finishing the workday nearby.

The West Side Was Due by the End of September

If anything changes the campus's weekly rhythm, it will be the second half of the building. The Chicago Sun-Times reported on June 24, 2026, that the developer expected the west side to open in the third quarter. The plan calls for 430,000 square feet of office space, 70,000 square feet of retail and 35,000 square feet of furnished flexible offices. Three planned features matter most for residents. West Side Square is a turf courtyard, Bar Bella is an outdoor bar, and the Bell Lounge is a public lounge with free Wi-Fi.

An outdoor bar and a courtyard are the kinds of places that tend to draw people on a Saturday. A free lounge open to the public gives non-tenants a reason to come in on a weekday morning without booking anything.

The wall between the two halves came down that same week. Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod and Inspired by Somerset Development President and CEO Ralph Zucker were at the ceremony, according to the Daily Herald. "It's the beginning of Bell Works phase two," McLeod told the paper. "It's ready to go. It's the last phase of the whole Bell Works saga." The paper reported that more than 500,000 square feet would be unlocked on the west side "within the coming months." No new tenants were announced at the event, but McLeod said he expected a proposal for at least one more restaurant on that side.

As of October 11, Bell Works' Chicagoland press page lists that late-June coverage as its most recent news. No announcement of a west-side opening, a named retail tenant or an opening date for Bar Bella has appeared since. The third-quarter target was a forecast, and the quarter is over. Until Bell Works announces otherwise, West Side Square, Bar Bella and the Bell Lounge should be treated as planned, not open.

Where Hoffman Estates Spends Its Weekends Meanwhile

For now, the Hoffman Estates Park District and the Village run the weekend calendar. Their fall and holiday schedules sit almost entirely on Saturdays, which is the reverse of the Bell Works pattern.

The Park District's online listings do not give venues for Haunted Hoffman, Howl-O-Ween or the Holiday Craft Fair, so check heparks.org before heading out. The Village also has one Friday evening event this month. Soirée Culinaire, a French dinner with a silent auction, starts at 6 p.m. on October 23 at Village Hall.

Put the two calendars side by side and October has a clear split. Bell Works covers Tuesday through Thursday afternoons. The Park District and the Village cover Saturday mornings and afternoons. On October 28, Bell Works handles Halloween on a weeknight, eleven days after Haunted Hoffman handles it on a Saturday.

December at Bell Works, If Last Year Repeats

Bell Works has not posted anything for November or December 2026. Last year's holiday event followed the same weekday pattern. Jingle & Jazz, the campus's annual holiday party, took place on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Bell Market, with seasonal food and drinks and live jazz. If the series returns, a midweek evening in early December fits the pattern, but no 2026 date has been announced. The Bell Works calendar of happenings is where it will show up first, along with any news that Bar Bella and West Side Square have opened.

Rob Morrison Team follows projects like the Bell Works west side as they move from renderings to open doors, because changes like these shape daily life around Prairie Stone and the Higgins Road corridor. If you'd like to talk about how Hoffman Estates is changing and what that means for your plans, schedule a consultation today.