Hotel Capital buys River North Hotel for $26M

The 122-key hotel is being upgraded amid a tourism surge along the Magnificent Mile

Founder/CEO of Hotel Capital Michael Collier and The Tremont Chicago
Founder/CEO of Hotel Capital Michael Collier and The Tremont Chicago

Just months after selling an Embassy Suites in suburban Chicago, Indianapolis-based private equity firm Hotel Capital has bought the 122-room Tremont Chicago Hotel in River North for $25.5 million.

Hotel Capital CEO Michael Collier said his company is planning a multimillion-dollar renovation of the 15-story building at 100 East Chestnut Street, which also includes Mike Ditka’s Restaurant, a block west of the Magnificent Mile shopping district, Crain’s reported. The hotel was acquired from Marriott through a deal brokered by CBRE.

Renovations will include upgrades to the lobby and the restaurant, according to the private equity shop.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The purchase of the boutique hotel comes on the heels of Hotel Capital selling its 209-key Embassy Suites in northwest suburban Schaumburg to Pearlshire Capital Group for $23 million.

Chicago has posted record tourism numbers the past several years, juicing demand for hotels around the high-trafficked Magnificent Mile.

Chicago hotel revenue rates have bounced back this year after slightly deflating in 2016 and 2017, and median revenue per available room jumped by almost 7 percent this year to about $106, according to hotel research firm STR.

In April, Canadian apparel shop Roots signed a lease with General Growth Properties for an 11,000 square-foot store at 605 North Michigan Avenue at $170 a square foot.  [Crain’s] —Alex Nitkin