Tucker gets green light for mixed-use project at former “Purple Hotel” site

Tucker Development secured a key approval for its plans to build a large mixed-use project on the site of the former “Purple Hotel” in Lincolnwood.

Lincolnwood officials this week approved several measures to help clear the way for the development, which will include a mix of retail, commercial, hotel and residential space, according to the Lincolnwood Review.

The 8.5-acre property at Lincoln and Touhy avenues was the longtime home to a Hyatt House Hotel that was better known for its distinctive purple color. It was abandoned for years before being torn down in 2013, and the site has been vacant since.

Tucker plans to construct a hotel with up to 220 rooms on the north end of the property and a mixed-use building on the southeast corner that will include up to 50,000 square feet of retail and commercial space along with up to 300 luxury residences.

Another building on the southwest portion of the site will have up to 30,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, according to the Lincolnwood Review. At least 20,000 square feet on the site will have to be restaurants.

Tucker is involved in a number of projects in the Chicago area, including a partnership with Seritage Growth Properties to redevelop the last two Sears stores in Chicago into mixed-use properties with retail and residential space.

Its deal to sell a South Loop shopping center to the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System was the most expensive retail investment sale of 2018. [Lincolnwood Review] — John O’Brien